New Delhi: Delhi University’s proposed endowment fund for research and development has caught the interest of various public sector undertakings (PSUs), which are considering donating to the endeavour, ThePrint has learnt.
The fund, which comes under the university’s not-for-profit company, the ‘University of Delhi Foundation’, was first proposed in 2019.
Among the companies that have evinced an interest is the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which is committed to providing DU with a fully-equipped ambulance, Anil Kumar, a professor in the university’s department of commerce, and chief executive officer of the ‘University of Delhi Foundation’, told ThePrint.
Another unnamed PSU plans to set up a chair at the university to help boost research and development in its own specialised field, said Kumar, who’s also an independent director at LIC. The PSU will appoint the chairperson.
“In addition to this, another public sector bank is in talks to give DU a sizeable endowment fund donation. Since we are still in the process of finalising the written agreements with the PSUs, we can’t disclose their names yet,” Kumar added.
However, not everybody has taken to the idea. Professors ThePrint spoke to have called the move “a step closer to privatisation”.
While faculty members claimed that the formation of the company was never discussed at the Executive Council meeting held earlier this month, DU Registrar Vikas Gupta told ThePrint: “The issue was reported in the EC meeting. The council members are aware of the development.”
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About the foundation
Registered under the Companies Act of 2013 in June 2022, the ‘University of Delhi Foundation’ is aimed at raising funds “through mobilising donations, bequests, gifts, funds, subscriptions, contributions in cash and in kind and to accept equipment, lands buildings or any other such assistance from individuals, well-wishers, alumni, philanthropists, associations, including the University of Delhi”, the company’s document, seen by ThePrint, says.
The university aims to use the donated funds for building labs and department buildings, and providing scholarships to students. According to Kumar, PSUs collectively have an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore for their Corporate Social Responsibility, which DU could use.
According to the ‘University of Delhi Foundation’ document, the company is worth Rs 15,00,000 and has 1,50,000 shares worth Rs 10 each. The university’s vice-chancellor holds 1,49,000 shares while the registrar has one share. According to Kumar, the V-C has given these shares to DU.
The university will soon set up an endowment fund board headed by the vice-chancellor.
“Our task is to carry forward the values and legacy of Delhi University and create a network of well-wishers, alumni, and friends in order to raise funds for the betterment of the university in terms of its physical and academic facilities,” Kumar told ThePrint.
Concerns about privatisation
The fund has been seeing opposition from various quarters, with both teachers and students claiming that it could lead to the destruction of public funding of education and an overall decline in the quality of education.
“With the university already seeking a hefty HEFA loan of about Rs 1,000 crore, with private investors coming into the university, of course, there will be favours,” Seema Das, a member of the DU Executive Council told ThePrint. “The shareholding of the company by the V-C and registrar makes the academic and executive councils redundant.”
She was referring to the Rs 950 crore loan that DU is taking from the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA), a joint venture between the Ministry of Education and Canara Bank to help create capital assets in premier educational institutions in India.
Rajesh Jha, president of the Aam Aadmi Party’s teachers’ wing, the Academic for Action and Development Delhi Teachers’ Association (AADTA), and former member of DU’s Executive Council, said the formation of a company by DU sets a “bad precedent for a central university of this stature”.
“The government has made provisions for giving scholarship grants to students in Delhi University. The issue was not brought up for discussion in the EC and the making of the company seems arbitrary and undermines the power of the committee,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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