It appears Goa University (GU) has miles to go before it can be counted among top most universities in the country. Founded in 1985 and located on Taleigao plateau, GU is still infested with major problems which apparently hurdle its academic progress.
Moreover, GU management has remained lethargic about its infrastructure management.The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, for the year ended March 31, 2006, which was presented in Assembly on Monday has pinpointed that enrolment of students in many of the post graduate programmes was so low that it resulted in low student/faculty ratio.
It says the number of students during 2001-02 to 2005-06 in four departments of French, Philosophy, Portuguese and Center for Latin American Studies was less than five but total expenditure on these four departments was Rs 1.66 crore during 2001-2006. However GU claimed students opt for professional courses which causes low student-faculty ratio.While 31 per cent of the academic posts were vacant – the recommendations of the Korgaonkar committee to reduce the staff are yet to be adopted.
It has also continued with full-fledged works division even after completion of major works. The expense on this division for a period between 2001-06 was Rs 3.51 crore, pointed out CAG report.
Another anomaly pointed out in CAG report is though GU has taken possession of 163.02 hactares of land from PWD in May 1992 – till 2006 it had not conducted demarcation of boundary land.
It GU has also been rapped over transfer of land for convention center and IT park. It neither prepared any land use plan not take any concrete steps to get the land (163.02 hectors) transferred from the State Government to the university’s name.
While on one hand if GU claims to have had hard press for funds which are needed to take up more challenging programmes – it’s infrastructure for distance education created at a cost of 2.15 crore has remained largely unutilized.
This facility was established in 2001, and though infrastructure has the capacity to reach and provide distance education to over 5000 students, the university had not commenced any course under distance education mode. Thus infrastructure created at the cost of Rs 2.15 crore largely remained unutilized, says CAG report.
No wonder, it has accumulated deficit of university amounting to Rs 7.73 crore. It has not adopted the accrual system of accounting.
-Herald, Goa Daily
