Development of the prestigious Aligarh Muslim University's Kishanganj Centre, around 370km northeast of Patna, has virtually come to a halt because of a funds crunch. The varsity's Bihar campus has not received a single rupee since the BJP-led NDA replaced the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre in May 2014. It had last received Rs 10 crore from the Centre in early 2014. No new buildings have come up on 224-acre area along the Mahananda river at Govindpur in Kishanganj provided by the state government for the campus. Neither have any new courses been launched over the past three years and nor has the Centre sanctioned any faculty posts. The campus boundary wall collapsed during last year's flood. The university functions from a rent-free building provided by the state government at Halim Chowk in Kishanganj. Contract teachers take classes because no permanent posts have been sanctioned.
"The financial crisis has affected everything, from construction of buildings and research facilities to launching of undergraduate, postgraduate polytechnic and vocational courses," said Prof. Rashid Nehal, director of the AMU's Kishanganj Centre. "We were able to launch BEd course in 2013 and an MBA course in 2014," he said. "Everything is in suspended animation since then. This centre is delayed by over three years now. We function from a minority hostel building provided by the state government where students reside, classes are held and my office is located."
The centre was conceptualised in 2008-09, during the first UPA government in New Delhi. The idea was to ensure educational, economic and cultural advancement of Muslims in the backward areas of Bihar and also promote national integration. The Bihar government provided the land in 2013 and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of the campus on January 30, 2014.
"The plan was to open three departments and research facility every year, depending on the commitment and generosity of the Union government," a source at the centre said. "However, no attention has been paid to develop the campus since the regime change in New Delhi."
A faculty member said the campus would have been on the verge of completion had funds been provided on time and work begun in right earnest. "But even the master plan or blueprint for the campus isn't ready," he added.
The Union human resources development ministry had approved Rs 134 crore for the AMU Kishanganj Centre in December 2015, but the money has not arrived, the faculty member said.
Centre director Rashid said the state government has always responded positively. "The Bihar water resources department has floated tenders worth Rs 44 crore for construction of embankments along the Mahananda and work has to be completed by March 2018," Rashid said. "It will also help retrieve 58 acres out of 224 that are underwater."
Despite the odds, students, faculty members and administration officials are keeping their fingers crossed in hope.
Disclaimer : Original source of article is The Telegraph, dated 06th April, 2017
Disclaimer : Original source of article is The Telegraph, dated 06th April, 2017
