"We asked the prime minister to either appoint a new chairman and member secretary at UGC immediately or introduce a temporary arrangement for the time being," Dr Tirtha Khaniya, member of National Planning Commission (NPC) who also attended the meeting, told Republica.[break] "The prime minister said that he would consult Minister for Education Sarvendra Nath Shukla and find solutions to UGC´s financial crisis."
After terms of UGC Chairman Kamal Krishna Joshi and Member Secretary Binod Kumar Shrestha expired on July 4 and July 22 respectively, UGC has not been able to provide regular grants to universities. Similarly, all employees at UGC and other universities have not received their salaries due to the absence of executive chiefs. All development projects have also come to a grinding halt.
A team of UGC members on Sunday also met education minister Shukla. In his meeting with UGC members, Shukla said that he would take up the issue seriously.
The lack of consensus among political parties is believed to have protracted the appointment of chairman and member secretary at UGC.
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