Chairman took Rs5k and members Rs3.5k for each aborting meet to fix fees for IP varsity pvt colleges
It’s a classic case that shows how decision-making can be a victim of “committee syndrome.” 18 months ago, the Delhi Government set up an eight-member Fee Regulatory Committee, headed by a former Chief Secretary of Delhi, to determine the fee for courses in privately-managed institutions under the IP University in Delhi and NCR. Even though the committee has held 180 meetings till date and incurred a cost of over Rs21 lakh, it is yet to submit its report.
The committee was asked to suggest the fee structure of 106 privately-owned colleges affiliated to IP University for the period of 2013 and 2016. Delhi’s Chief Secretary DM Spolia said the Government was in touch with the committee and expects the report to be submitted shortly.
When contacted by The Pioneer, committee chief Ramesh Narayanswamy, ex-Chief Secretary of Delhi, said that the panel was in the process of finalising the report, which will be submitted to the Government within a month. The committee was re-constituted on February 13, 2013.
According to sources, the allowance per meeting is fixed at Rs5,000 for the chairman and Rs3,500 for other two members, while the rest of the members are not given anything as they are Government employees.
“ So, if you multiply the per day allowance with 180, it comes to around Rs 9 lakh for the chairman, while the amount for the other two members comes to around Rs 12.60 lakh. The total figure stands at Rs21.60 lakh,” said the sources.Between September 23 and October 31 alone, the committee members have met 12 times. On an average, the committee is conducting two meetings in a week for the last 18 months.
When asked why the committee has not submitted its report, Ramesh Narayanswamy said that he had personally visited each and every college affiliated with the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and it was a time-consuming exercise.The committee is supposed to submit a report on quality of education of each college and institution and accordingly give grading of each institution.
Fee regulation is done after a gap of three years. The last such exercise was undertaken in 2009 which recommended fee for the year 2009-12. In the academic session 2011-12, the committee headed by former Chief Secretary of Delhi, S Raghunathan had recommended a five per cent hike for private colleges affiliated with the Indraprastha University.
Ramesh Narayanswamy was also the member of the committee that probed the irregularities in recruitment of professors and assistant professors in Delhi Technological University.He is also heading the committee which will evaluate the colleges/institutions affiliated with the IP University and determine whether they fulfill the criteria or not. Recently, he was also made the chairman of Union Territories Finance Commission. He was also a consultant for the Delhi Government during the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
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