Andhra University has to wait till June when a new government will be in place, to meet its additional financial needs. This was informed by the Finance Secretary during the university’s budget meeting held in Hyderabad on Tuesday, Vice-Chancellor G.S.N. Raju said at a press conference here on Wednesday. The executive council meeting of the university was held simultaneously.
The university proposed a budget of Rs. 367.07 crore for 2014-15, with the salaries and pensions totalling Rs. 296 crore. This included expenditure towards 509 teacher posts to which the government had given its approval (the recruitment is pending for want of financial support). Development works worth Rs. 73 crore were also proposed. AU would receive Rs. 130 crore as block grant and the total deficit projected was Rs. 118 crore. If the government could provide Rs. 250 crore, the university would be in a healthy shape, Prof. Raju said. AU being an old university its pension bill runs up to Rs. 91 crore.
The development works proposed included a 180-room hostel for foreign students; repairs to old staff quarters and student hostels; automation of administration; improvement of laboratories of EEE, mechanical and ECE departments of AU College of Engineering and of the AU College of Engineering for Women; provision of closed circuit TV cameras covering the entire campus; computerisation of the Dr. V.S. Krishna Library and carrying out of repairs to it; installation of solar power system for each building; installation of 10 water purifying plants on the campus; appointment of placement officers for all the six campus colleges and introduction of five-year integrated courses in chemical engineering and instrumentation engineering.
Introduction of solar power system would help the university to save huge amount in future though cost of installation was high, the Vice-Chancellor felt. Already the civil and geology departments were provided solar power system with capacities of 3 KV and 2 KV respectively. Since a solar power field on a 15-acre site, planned earlier, would be expensive, it was decided to provide the power systems to individual buildings. He hoped that the cost of LED lamps would come down in near future so that more lights could be arranged.
ConvocationThe university’s plan to have a permanent date for its convocation took shape at last as the EC decided that the function should be held on September 9 every year.
On the recent cases of sickness of students of Nagarjuna hostel, Prof. Raju said that laboratory tests showed that drinking water and milk were not contaminated. However, at the request of the students, Vijaya brand milk was being supplied.
