Financial crisis hits Jalandhar's 50-year-old women's college

Jalandhar, July 24

Reports of a financial crisis hitting Lyallpur Khalsa College for Women has made the staff jittery, especially with the management announcing to close down certain less viable courses from this session.

The issue gained momentum after representatives of two teachers’ union released press notes this evening saying that they had learnt that the college management had written to Guru Nanak Dev University of its plans to shut down the college. “We cannot let the 50-year-old institute with 700 students enrolled to shut down like this. We all need to join our hands in support of the staff deployed here,” said Dr Tejinder Virli, member of the state unit of Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union.

President of the College Management Committee, Balbir Kaur, however, clarified, “We, of course, are in a financial crisis. We are in the process of closing down certain less viable courses like MSc (IT) or some PG courses where we have had just one or two fresh enrolments. But we are certainly not closing down the college. We have conducted fresh admissions for the new session. How can we shut the college?

Dr Ajay Sareen, Principal, HMV College and vice-president of Principals’ Association, said, “We will not let the college close like that. We stand with the college and the staff in this time of crisis.”