CUSAT to merge depts to cut costs

Updated on: Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Facing a severe financial crunch, CUSAT is planning to cut posts and merge identical departments, in a bid to save at least Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 crore.

According to top officials, there is a shortage of Rs 35 crore in non-plan funds at the university as the financial year comes to an end on March 31 and the forthcoming syndicate meet will deliberate on finding more sources of revenue.
The plan is to dispense with 138 posts at the university. According to the university registrar, Dr A Ramachandran, the marine sciences department with 200 students has six administrative offices whereas the biggest, the school of engineering with 2,500 students, has just one administrative office.

“This is a criminal waste and this has to be streamlined and the excess employees in such departments have to be redeployed,” he said.

Interestingly, there is a proposal to merge computer science and computer application and photonics and the Centre of Excellence in Lasers and Optoelectronic Sciences.

Dr Ramachandran said that existence of smaller departments came in the way of availing grants.

“AICTE stipulates certain number of teachers, area and facilities for each department and when they function separately. This cannot be met and hence the decision to merge. The UGC also calls for the same. This will enable them to get grants also.”

However, skeptics point out that by removing temporary staff working on meagre wages of Rs 7,500 a month will not make any significant impact in a varsity where the rest draw hefty UGC salaries.

Dr Ramachandran said that a department which was set up for getting an IISET (Indian Institute of Science Engineering and Technology) status was redundant and 10 staff from here can be redeployed.

There are eight people working in the recruitment section who can be shifted to other sections with the PSC assuming the charge of recruitment to the varsity.

He said that the proposed measures could be decided by the vice-chancellor and need not go to the syndicate.

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