The university authorities were groping in the dark on how to pay salaries
The cash-strapped Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) has received a breather, with Finance Minister K. M. Mani agreeing to provide Rs.10 crore as special grant.
A team led by Cusat Vice-Chancellor Ramachandran Thekkedath met Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Finance Minister K. M. Mani, and Education Minister P. K. Abdu Rabb on Wednesday seeking financial assistance to overcome the ongoing financial crisis.
Lopus Mathew, convener of the standing committee for finance, said on Wednesday that the university had sought Rs.50 crore assistance from the government. The Finance Minister has agreed to sanction Rs.10 crore as initial assistance, he said.
The government had earlier asked the university authorities to explain why the provident fund was diverted to provide salary for the employees.
Mr. Mathew said that the university required Rs.5 crore to disburse the monthly salary of the employees. The State grant was Rs.3 crore and there was a monthly deficit of Rs.2 crore, which was often met from the provident fund and revenue earned from the self-financing programmes of the university.
The financial crisis worsened last month and left the university authorities groping in the dark on how to pay the monthly salary to the employees.
Mr. Mathew said that a slew of measures were taken to check expenditure and increase internal revenue. These include increasing the fee for various academic programmes, re-deployment of employees and cutting down on various expenses. We could save about Rs. 3 crore to Rs. 4 crore after such steps are implemented, he said.
