Indore: With Jitu Patwari, higher education minister in Kamal Nath government, leaving office, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) is unlikely to get approval on proposals for upgrading 14 of its teaching departments as Centres of Excellence (CoFs) under World Bank project.
A total of Rs 72 crore grant was sought by DAVV for upgrading the teaching departments as Centres of Excellence, in January.
Under Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Quality Improvement Project of World Bank, the Grade A+ accredited DAVV had got approval for two out of eight proposals for Centres of Excellence in November last year.
On the other hand, all seven Centres of Excellence proposals of Jiwaji University (Gwalior) and six of Barkatullah University (Bhopal) were approved by the Department of Higher Education (DHE). T
he DAVV got merely Rs 1.8 crore whereas Jiwaji University and Barkatullah University were granted Rs 16.44 crore and Rs 10.96 crore respectively for setting up Centres of Excellence.
Terming the decision of DHE biased, DAVV had expressed its displeasure with the then higher education minister Patwari, who is an MLA from Rau assembly constituency in Indore district.
Taking a note of this, Patwari had called for proposals from all teaching departments, barring self-financing departments, of the university and assuring that he would ensure that maximum of them got sanctioned.
Now, as Patwari is not in the office, the DHE is unlikely to entertain the proposals sought on his suggestion, said a DAVV officer wishing anonymity
