HOW OSMANIA UNIVERSITY IS RAISING FUNDS

The state university in Hyderabad, Telangana, is struggling to pay salaries and pensions even with two-thirds of its posts vacant.

- Atul Krishna

Osmania University, in the past few months, has raised tuition fees by over 300 percent, conducted its first global alumni meet and provided their alumni a chance to complete their back logs with a penalty of over Rs. 10,000. According to officials, all of this was done in an effort to raise funds as the university faces a shortage of Rs. 350 crore every year.

The university hopes to have a huge solar power plant on its premises, in collaboration with the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUS), to drastically reduce its electricity bill.

While the university administration explores increasingly creative ways of finding resources, teachers are waiting for it clear their pensions another huge sum. More than two-thirds of the state university's permanent teaching positions are vacant. Osmania University, which is over a century-old, has around 500 affiliated colleges.

Lack of funds

Teachers unions have repeatedly protested about the university's inability to introduce the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). According to the scheme, both the employer and the employee pay toward a pension.

"The Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) has not been implemented in Osmania University. Since 2004, it has been pending because the university does not have enough funds. Here, only employees are depositing but the university is not giving its share," said Surendar Reddy, general secretary, Osmania University Teachers Association.

Teachers said that the university has been unable to do so because of a shortage of funds from the state government.

"Around every month, the salary expenditure will come around Rs. 30 crore and every month the university is mobilising around Rs. 10-15 crore because the government is only providing Rs. 10-15 crore for salaries. They mobilise these from examination fees, self-financed courses, tuition fees, etc.," said Reddy.