Mumbai: The management of Patkar-Varde College has come in for criticism from the students for being apathetic towards their basic needs. Despite being charged for facilities under different heads, students alleged, many classrooms are overcrowded, toilets are filthy, the auditorium is out of reach, and the gymkhana is in shambles.
“At many places, a classroom has been divided with a wooden partition. It is difficult to hear the lecture as while there is a biology class on one side of the room, there are students of chemistry on the other side,” said a student, who did not wish to be named.
But trust president Kishore Rangnekar doesn’t think the noise could disturb students if there were two lectures in adjacent classrooms. In many courses, he said, the number of students is almost half the strength a classroom can accommodate. “So, we have divided some classrooms with aluminum structures, after consultations with the structural engineer and the architect.”
Another student said they can use the auditorium for a freshers’ party or any other entertainment/recreational purpose only when it has not been rented for a wedding or banquet. Students alleged that when they approached trust secretary Gurunath V. Pandit for a freshers’ party recently, he said, “Who told you that you would get the auditorium? I am its owner.”
But the trust secretary rubbished the charge. “I am just a trustee. Besides, the auditorium is rented for a private function only on Sundays or college holidays. On other days, all college functions are held there.”
Similarly, the gymkhana does not have enough equipment. “They collect ₹400 towards gymkhana fee. I wonder what they do with the money?” asked a student.
Mr. Pandit said a gymkhana fee of ₹Rs. 400 is collected from nearly 4,000 senior college students as per the Mumbai University norms. “We have provided the facilities required for a gymkhana within the money collected under the head.”
In July, the students of a hospitality college, also run by the trust, and which is a study centre of Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU), got a shock when they saw a banner that the new admissions had been stopped by an order of the trust. The online enrolment by the YCMOU was blocked too. When they tried to find out the reason, no explanation was given by the management.
Left with no other option, a student moved the Bombay High Court. Following this, the students claimed, the trust decided to continue the course.
“There should be prior information. After the admissions are over, they can’t just whimsically decide to shut it down,” said a student.
Mr. Pandit said the trust had put a stop to the admissions till those running the affairs at the hospitality college submitted the accounts for 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. “Then we found that they have forged my signature and submitted letters to the authorities. Hence, they were removed and the trust is now running the course with permission from the YCMOU.”
The trust secretary also claimed that no one approached him on the matter. About the court petition, Mr. Pandit said, “Since neither the college nor the trust was a party, we were not aware of any such petition. To our knowledge, a complaint was filed with the YCMOU.”
Interestingly, 127 applications under the Right to Information Act were filed by students, teachers and trust members between 2009 and 2016.
