College of Art may not get affiliated to PU this year

The College of Art, Sector 10, which is seeking affiliation to the Panjab University (PU) this year, has little hopes to qualify as a three-member inspection committee on Saturday apparently found several discrepancies.

For the college, which needs affiliation from the Panjab University every year for its postgraduate course in Fine Arts, this could prove decisive.

What primarily scores against the college’s chances of affiliation is lack of proper faculty and poor state of infrastructure.

Sources said that when the College was inspected last year, the incharges were asked to advertise posts for hiring faculty members — a resource that the college was lacking acutely.

A year later, the situation is no different with the shortage of faculty still persistent.

The other discrepancy spotted by the team, comprising dean of College Development Council and senate members, was the poor state of infrastructure.

While some areas fall under the jurisdiction of the Chandigarh Administration, little has been done to upgrade the existing infrastructure.

Sources said that now the fate of the college rests in the hands of the committee’s report.

Talking to Newsline, one of the senior members of the committee said: “The college had been given one year to check their discrepancies and take action against the same.

Nothing concrete has been done and the present scenario is no different from the situation a year ago. The affiliation may not be renewed”.

Principal of the College Dr Archana Shastri, however, said: “There are no discrepancies as such and the College had been given certain recommendations last year. The major issue pertains to the faculty and also the adjacent building to the college had to be vacated which has yet not been done. We may get some time to follow the recommendations”.