The Delhi government has released Rs 100 crore for its fully-funded 12 colleges under the Delhi University (DU).

Giving this information on June 28, Delhi Education Minister Atishi said since the Kejriwal government came to power in Delhi, the budget allocated to these colleges has tripled, which shows the government’s commitment to education.

Speaking about the government’s vision to keep education on priority always, she said, “Ever since the government led by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came to power in Delhi, the education sector has been given the largest share in the budget every year.”

She added that there are several universities in Delhi included in the higher education system of the Delhi government, including Ambedkar University, DTU, NSUT, DSEU, etc. In addition to all these, the 12 colleges of Delhi University also play an important role in higher education in Delhi, which are fully funded by the Delhi government. These colleges play an important role as they work to provide education to girls in rural areas of Delhi. “I am happy to say that this time the Delhi government has allocated a large amount in the budget for these 12 fully-funded colleges, compared to previous years,” the Delhi Education Minister said.

She further said, “In the financial year 2023-24, an amount of Rs 400 crore has been allocated by the government. Out of this, the first quarter of Rs 100 crore is being released today. It is the vision of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to provide access to quality higher education to every child in Delhi. To ensure the same the fund of these 12 colleges is being increased by the government every year.”

The Delhi Education Minister said, “Since the Kejriwal government came to power, the funds allocated to these colleges have tripled in the past 8 years. In 2014-15, these colleges were allocated Rs 132 crore, and today in 2023-24, the allocation has increased threefold to Rs 400 crore. There are issues of financial mismanagement in these colleges, but the Kejriwal government has decided that the teachers and students of these colleges should not suffer due to management or administrative flaws. Although some colleges are currently undergoing audits, the Delhi government is laying emphasis on the welfare of teachers, ensuring that they receive their salaries, medical benefits and pension benefits that were delayed due to financial mismanagement. Therefore, the Delhi government is issuing a fund of Rs 100 crore for these 12 colleges under the Delhi University.”

She said that if any financial irregularities are found in any college after the audit process, strict action will be taken against the administration. However, the teachers should not worry as they will receive their salaries on time, as well as timely medical and pension benefits. This is the objective with which the Kejriwal government is releasing a fund of Rs 100 crore for these 12 colleges.

In the year 2014-15, the allocation to these colleges was Rs 132 crore. In the year 2015-16, Rs 147 crore were allocated to these colleges. In the year 2016-17, Rs 156 crore were allocated. In the year 2017-18, Rs 171 crore were allocated. In the year 2018-19, Rs 213 crore were allocated. In the year 2019-20, Rs 235 crore were allocated. In the year 2020-21, Rs 265 crore were allocated. In the year 2021-22, Rs 308 crore were allocated. In the year 2022-23, Rs 361 crore were allocated. This year, an amount of Rs 400 crore has been allocated to these 12 colleges so that they can establish better facilities for all the students studying in them.

Twelve fully-funded colleges by the Delhi government are Acharya Narendra Dev College, Aditi Mahavidyalaya, Bhagini Nivedita College, Bhaskaracharya College, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College, Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Maharaja Agrasen College, Maharshi Valmiki College of Education, Shaheed Rajguru College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies.