Dumka: Allegations of an off-the-books collection of funds amounting to lakhs of rupees from students have surfaced at Aditya Narayan (AN) College, Dumka, a permanently affiliated unit of SKM University, prompting demands for a high-level probe into the institution’s functioning.The issue came to light after a delegation of the All India Scheduled Castes/Tribes and Backward Classes Employees Coordination Council, Jharkhand, Santhal Pargana unit, led by its president Rajesh Kumar Das, submitted a detailed memorandum to higher and technical education department principal secretary Rahul Purwar during his visit to Dumka on Wednesday.“The principal secretary has assured us to look into the matter,” Das claimed.According to the memorandum, despite the introduction of an online fee payment system, students continued to be charged an additional offline fee of Rs 50 every semester in the name of campus and library department charges.The organisation alleged that instead of being deposited into the college’s authorised bank account, the money collected was credited to a joint personal bank account operated in the names of two faculty members, in a serious violation of financial norms.The memorandum also flagged alleged financial and administrative irregularities related to the distribution of annual govt grants and sought an independent inquiry.Principal-in charge Sanjay Kumar Singh denied the charges. “The Rs 50 collected offline from students was a long-standing practice and was meant for the welfare of teaching and non-teaching staff,” he said.
Money receipts of the alleged offline fee collection.