Several projects held up as no executive council for NTR health varsity for 2 years
Vijayawada: The Dr NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS) has no Executive Council for the last two years, affecting its functioning and holding back the implementation of several academic programmes.
The Executive Council will be having 14 members with the Vice-Chancellor as its chairman, the registrar as convener and secretaries of finance and health, commissioner of health and family welfare, directors of health and medical education and some others as nominated members.
The term of the EC lasts three years. The term of the last EC ended two years ago. Since then, no new EC was constituted by the state government due to various reasons.
University sources say lack of EC meant no major decision could be taken as in a change of curriculum and initiation of welfare schemes for students. Though the university planned to come up with a plan to hold exams in remote mode for the university college and all its constituent and affiliated colleges, it was unable to do this for want of clearance and sanction of funds from the EC. The project was estimated to cost more than Rs two crore.
Similarly, the university proposed to enter into MoUs with several states as also national and international research institutes to share knowledge and expertise, facilitate good exposure to students and help them come up with innovative projects. This too did not materialize as no EC existed for grant of nod.
The university planned to sign an MoU with the National Institute of Nutrition in Hyderabad but that too remains on paper for the same reason.
Sources say that several programmes, projects, agreements and welfare activities for students are held back due to lack of mandatory clearance and financial concurrence of the EC.
State government sources conveniently sought to put the blame on the civic polls. They said though there was a move to constitute an EC for NTRUHS recently, the model code of conduct announced by the state election commission in the run-up to the gram panchayat and urban local body polls came in the way and delayed the process further.
