SPPU senate meeting delayed due to polls

PUNE: Senate meeting of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), which was scheduled on March 30, has been postponed until after General Elections. It will be most likely held in June.

The budget allocation for the academic year 2019-2020 was the primary focus of this senate meeting. 

SPPU will be introducing some new courses in the upcoming academic year for which funds were expected to be allocated in this senate meeting. 

Decisions on the increment of teaching and non-teaching staff and approval of funds for other expenditure in varsity are done during this meeting. 

“In such situations, Vice-Chancellors of University have a special power bestowed on them under a provision in State Public University Act to allocate an amount of fund in case of emergency or necessary work needs to be completed,” said Nitin Karmalkar, Vice-Chancellor of SPPU.

The Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) has directed all State public universities to not conduct senate meeting during the Model Code of Conduct period. 

It came into light after Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, had sent a letter to DHE requesting to allow them to conduct the senate meeting. 

But the directorate replied keeping all the universities in the loop, “DHE notified that university senate meeting consists of university authorities and nominated members which include representatives of different political parties, students and others. Hence, universities should conduct the meeting after elections are over,” informed Registrar of Kaviyatri Bahinabai North Maharashtra University, BB Patil.