Higher education department mandates varsities to make finances public by Dec 10

Bengaluru: The higher education department has demanded that all public universities in the state and their affiliated colleges make information about their finances available to the public by December 10 as part of its good governance month initiatives.

The department has given the institutions instructions to upload information regarding, among other things, their income, expenses, active projects, and instructor profiles. The institutions must also update their monthly balances and upload information about their bank accounts, including the purpose of each account. The university's immovable assets and mobile property will also be made public, classified by the department.

The department declared: "They will have to provide copies of all orders placed by government departments during the current fiscal year, together with any funding they have received. Monthly progress reports on both the physical and financial aspects must be supplied, together with information on the monthly expenses of the same."It has also requested the uploading of information about the welfare programmes, scholarships, freeships, and hostel facilities already in place, as well as papers pertaining to purchases, tenders, and purchase orders for the years 2022–2033. The department stated that in addition to ongoing physical infrastructure projects, annual budget documents in chronological order, including the most recent, reports and audit reports, and financial disclosures, institutes must also provide information about their staff, including the role and responsibilities of non-teaching staff, curriculum vitae, and contacts and profiles of the faculty.

The details of PhD scholars' research projects will also be provided. By the end of January 2023, every university is required to build an alumni-connect office and alumni portal on its website. In an effort to increase transparency, the department had decided that the academic council, finance committee, and syndicate sessions will be livestreamed on the individual university websites, as well as on YouTube and Facebook.