Delay in disbursement of PMS reason for delay in salaries of all unaided colleges: JAC

Ludhiana: A meeting of Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising 13 associations was held recently.
The delegation discussed better strategies to be adopted amid Coronavirus for the uninterrupted & smooth education of the students including Online Classes, Technological platforms, Online Viva Voce, Final Examinations, online Placement activities for the Final Year students, online career counseling sessions, stress management sessions etc. The delegation also discussed that the Coronavirus may go for long but Universities/colleges with joint efforts of the faculty would ensure smooth delivery of Education
On the other hand, delegation also deliberated that the delay in the release of Post Matric Scholarship (PMS) Funds is the reason behind the delay in salaries of Unaided Colleges and Universities of Punjab.
The meeting was also attended by the tricity members of Punjab Unaided Technical Institutions Association (PUTIA) & Punjab Unaided Colleges Association (PUCA) members.  Chancellor, Chandigarh University, S. Satnam Singh Sandhu; Chancellor, Rayat & Bahra, Mr. Gurvinder Singh Bahra; President, PUCA & Chairman, Aryans Group, Dr. Anshu Kataria; Chancellor, CT University, S. Charanjit Singh Channi;   President, PUTIA, Dr. Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal; President, Nursing Colleges Association, Mr. Charanjit Singh Walia; Senior Vice President, PUTIA, S. Manjit Singh; President, B.Ed Federation, S. Jagjit Singh; Polytechnic Association, S Rajinder Dhanoa; President, Punjab Unaided Degree Colleges Association (PUDCA), S. Sukhmander Singh Chatha; ITI Association, Mr. Shimanshu Gupta; Sh. Amit Sharma (ACET), Sh. Ashok Garg (SVIET), Sh. Prem Gandhi (KC Group), S. Gupreet Singh (Universal Group), S. Gurkirat Singh (Gulzar Group) etc were the prominent ones.
Dr. Anshu Kataria said that the Centre has already released Rs 309 Crore to the State in the month of March-April out of Rs 1850 Crore. But the State Govt has not disbursed the funds further to the Colleges. JAC questioned why the State Govt is not disbursing the amount when the Centre has already paid?
S. Manjit Singh said that the colleges are waiting for 3-4 years for their payment while SC students are passing out from the colleges. Manjit Singh added that Colleges are paying the fees of SC Students to the affiliating Universities and Boards from their own pocket without charging fees from the SC Students as per the directions of the State Govt.
Dr. Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal said that neither the State Govt is allowing the unaided colleges to charge fees from the SC Students nor releasing the funds under the PMS Scheme to the colleges which has resulted into huge financial loss to these colleges.
S. Sukhmander Singh Chatha said that due to the non disbursement of the funds, not only thousands of Unaided colleges but, around 3 lakh SC Students and their families along with more than 1 lakh teaching and non teaching staff and their families are facing hardships.