Academics teaching social exclusion across universities were in for a surprise on Thursday as the Jawaharlal Nehru University received a letter from the University Grants Commission saying that the UGC would not fund its Centre for Social Exclusion after the 12th Plan. Centres of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, established in about 35 central universities since 2007, are dedicated spaces for research on Dalits, tribes and minorities.
When contacted, a top UGC official said the latest letter just meant that the expenditure under the scheme to fund these centres would move from Plan to Plan and not be merged with non-Plan expenditure.
Written to the Registrar of the JNU by the UGC, the letter, accessed by The Hindu , says:
“... Regarding the establishment of the Centre of Studies of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy in your University, I am directed to inform you that UGC will not provide financial support to the Centre after the end of the 12th Plan as per the order received from the Ministry of Human Resource Development...”
The 12th Plan period was 2012-17.
The letter adds, “Further, the UGC will not be liable to the Scheme of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy after the completion of XIIth Plan in any matter of functioning of the Centre; no communication whatsoever will be entertained or solicited by the UGC.”
A senior UGC official told The Hindu , “This just means that the expenditure will move from Plan to Plan since this is a scheme. It will not be merged with non-Plan expenditure. It does not mean that we are closing down this scheme.”
However, a letter written by the UGC to JNU before the end of the 11th Plan had a somewhat different language, a source in the university claimed.
