Punjab Newspaper

In its march towards achieving the title of “potential for excellence”, Punjabi University, Patiala, has achieved another milestone with University Grants Commission having sanctioned Rs 1.25 crore for setting up of an Academic Staff College (ASC) on its campus.


Giving this information, Dr Jaspal Singh, Vice-Chancellor, said that the major function of the ASC, to be established in pursuance of National Policy on Education, was to conduct refresher and orientation courses for the in-service University and College teachers. These courses, he said, were mandatory for teachers to get promotions under career advancement scheme from Lecture to Lecturer (senior scale) and from Lecturer (senior scale) to Reader. Elaborating further, Dr Jaspal Singh said that of the Rs 1.25 crore, Rs 75 lakhs will be spent on constructing a guest house for the teachers participating in the refresher and orientation courses, Rs 20 lakhs on creating a computer lab and Rs 30 lakhs as initial expenditure on various activities. The State Government, he said, has also chosen Punjabi University for establishing an exclusive Centre for Studies in Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice.
While accepting the proposal of the University for establishing the ASC, the UGC in its letter has mentioned that these colleges are established with the objective of “conducting specially designed academic and staff orientation programmes for the serving teachers to keep abreast of the latest advances, exchange expressions with their peers and learn mutually from each other.” Dr Devinder Singh, Director, Planning and Monitor, who has been assigned the task of accomplishing the task by the Vice-Chancellor, said that the University has also been directed to immediately prepare a consolidated plan for making effective utilization of grant in planned manner for the purpose.
Recently, the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India had sanctioned grants worth Rs 2.72 crore to its Departments of Physics, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research, Botany, Chemistry and Human Biology under the Funds for Improvement of Science and Technology Infrastructure in Universities and Higher Educational Institutions (FIST) scheme. While the Department of Physics had been extended a grant of Rs 87lakhs, the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Drug Research has been funded with Rs 60 lakhs. The Departments of Botany, Chemistry and Human Biology have received grants worth Rs 50 lakhs, 40 lakhs and 35 lakhs, respectively.