Shimla, March 30 A compliance audit report prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India was presented in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Monday, which highlighted "serious flaws" in the functioning and administration of the Himachal Pradesh University.
According to the report, there were 27 to 37 vacant faculty positions at the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) between 2020-23.
The report, prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for the period ending March 2023, also raised serious questions about 186 appointments at HPU, alleging that they were made without proper document verification.
According to the report, the university violated UGC norms by appointing an ineligible assistant professor and a guest faculty member.
As a result of these appointments, the quality of teaching has suffered, depriving students of proper guidance, the report said.
This deficiency has been highlighted in the past as well, but the situation has not improved, it said.
The report also pointed out that the academic quality of the university was being compromised due to a shortage of resources, weak infrastructure, a decline in research activities, and administrative lapses.
It emphasized the need for immediate and concrete measures to rectify these deficiencies.
According to the report, only 51 per cent of classrooms in HPU were equipped with ICT, while the science laboratories faced equipment shortages.
Expensive scientific equipment worth approximately Rs 1.99 crore was lying unused for years, it alleged.
The enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, developed at a cost of Rs 11.19 crore, also remained almost non-functional, the report said.
Serious deficiencies were also pointed out at the academic level, with many courses not updated for years, and in most instances, changes were implemented without seeking input from students or faculty members.
The university was also found to be lagging in research, according to the report.
Over a period of three years, an average of only 0.1 research projects were initiated per faculty member – a figure significantly below established standards, it said.