IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, March 19: Days after media reports about the University Grants Commission (UGC) stopping funds for the Centre for the Study of Discrimination and Exclusion at Jawaharlal Nehru University, the UGC has come out denying any such order. It said the letter appeared in a section of media was forged and it may take legal action against the culprits.
JNU had reportedly received a letter from the UGC stating that it is going to stop financial support to its Centre for the Study of Discrimination & Exclusion after the end of 12th Plan as per the order received from MHRD.
“The quoted letter is a forgery and as per records of UGC has not been issued by Ms. Sushma Rathore, Under Secretary, UGC. The records of University Grants Commission have been checked and it is confirmed that no such letter has been issued or dispatched by the office of University Grants Commission,” the UGC has been quoted as saying by The Hindu daily on Sunday.
The letter had created unease among the faculty and students at JNU’s centre and also at 35 such Centres established all over India since 2007.
“(The) University Grants Commission has established Centres for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy in various universities in the Tenth Plan on plan-to-plan basis provided these Centres give a satisfactory progress in the areas of their focus. Keeping in view the same procedure the UGC would be extending these Centres from 1st April, 2017 onwards,” the UGC has reportedly said.
