By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 30 May: Senior BJP leader Vivekanand Khanduri has stated that the recent orders issued by Deputy Secretary of the Uttarakhand Government to around 8 government aided but non-government colleges from Garhwal to end their the affiliation with Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal Central University, Srinagar Garhwal (HNBGCU), and to get compulsory affiliation with Sridev Suman University by 31 May is a violation of the stay order of the Uttarakhand High Court.
Khanduri also claimed that, along with this, the Higher Education Department of the Uttarakhand Government is also trying to sabotage the objective promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the BJP Manifesto towards ensuring better higher education, management education, higher technical education and higher medical education to the students.
Khanduri said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to establish higher education institutions, IITs, IIMs and AIIMS across the country through the BJP manifesto. Work on this has been done rapidly and lakhs of youth have benefited. But the Higher Education Department of the Uttarakhand Government, on the contrary, is bent on providing state level education instead of providing central level higher education. This order of the government, directing 8 premier non-government but government aided colleges in Garhwal to get affiliated with Sridev Suman University by ending affiliation with HNBGCU is a short-sighted step to deprive the students of Uttarakhand of better quality central level higher education and limit them to state level education.
Khanduri also reminded that the total infrastructure of Sridev Suman University and the affected degree colleges is less than the infrastructure of these 8 aided colleges. He also reminded that many important faculties are not present with the Sridev Suman University like the Law courses, whereas the DAV (PG) College has a reputed law faculty. Despite this, the Uttarakhand government has ordered the colleges to get affiliated with Sridev Suman University.
Vivekanand Khanduri reminded that recently, Deputy Secretary of Uttarakhand Government Vyomkesh Dubey has directed eight government aided private colleges of Garhwal division of Uttarakhand to compulsorily end their affiliation with Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal Central University Srinagar Garhwal by 31 May and get affiliation with the state level Sridev Suman University. Failing this, the government has warned these colleges of the state grants received in the form of salary from the academic session 2024-25 onwards being ended. He also reminded that this matter is pending with the Nainital High Court and that the next hearing of the case is due on 12 June.
It may be recalled that last year, also, the Executive Council of Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal Central University had directed all these colleges to end their affiliation with Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal Central University Srinagar Garhwal and get affiliation with Sridev Suman University. Against the order, the affected colleges had filed a petition with the High Court of Uttarakhand. The division bench of the High Court, while hearing the petition filed, had held the entire process of disaffiliating the colleges invalid and had in fact, stayed the decision of the Executive Council of Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal Central University. The division bench held that the decision regarding affiliation of State-aided non-government colleges covered under the provisions of Section 4(f) of the Central Universities Act, 2009 cannot be taken at the Central University level on the basis of the directions of the Higher Education Department of the State Government and even on the basis of any decision of Union Ministry of Education.
