Panjab University to set up RTI cell,bring transparency in hiring system

The Syndicate also endorsed a proposal to increase the prize money being awarded to the winners of prestigious K K Grover and A C Bali declamation contest from Rs 150 to Rs 2,500. A committee has been formed to work out the modalities involved. The issue was taken up after Newsline published a news report titled ‘20 years on,no change in prize money for contests’ on April 29.

A change in the nomenclature of Government College,Sector 11,was also approved and the college will now be known as Post Graduate Government College,Sector 11.

Also,it was decided that students belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes categories of Punjab will not be required to pay ‘Tuition Fee and Other Non-Refundable Charges’ at the time of admission.

The introduction of a course on ‘Demonstrative Advocacy’ under the joint patronage of Panjab University,Fancy Barristers,P C and New York Law School,USA,was also approved. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute of Energy South Korea was also approved. The Syndicate also gave a final nod to increasing the LLM seats in the University Institute of Legal Studies from 25 to 50.

The Fellows congratulated Professor Sobti for being nominated by the UGC chairman to be part of the 15-member Indian delegation to the United Kingdom.

The university budget was also discussed in the meeting on Sunday. A revised estimated deficit of Rs 78. 33 crore for 2008-09 and budget estimated deficit of Rs 290.26 crore for 2009-2010 was approved. A corpus fund,where both the university and employees would contribute Rs 18 lakh each,would be set up to help make easy loans available to staff.

A group insurance scheme for students was also approved. Under the scheme,students would have to contribute Rs 120 each to avail themselves of an accidental insurance cover of up to Rs 1 lakh. The scheme has been extended to the students’ parents as well. Earlier,the PU authorities had decided to involve an agency for the project. Now,however,it was stated that the scheme would be handled by the employees themselves.

In a nutshell
* SC/ST students exempted from paying tuition fee and other non-refundable charges
* Prize money of declamation contest to be increased to Rs 2,500
* Minimum amount for all scholarships to be Rs 1,000
* Group insurance scheme approved for students