The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Urdu Academy faces financial crunch

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Wednesday, Jan 06, 2010
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Urdu Academy faces financial crunch

Special Correspondent

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah promises Rs. 3 crore to the Academy

Academy decides to close down its 85 computer training centres and 67 libraries across the State
Worse, the 275 employees have not received their salaries for the last two months

Hyderabad: The Urdu Academy appears to have got a breather. The cash strapped Academy, which is going through a worse financial crisis, has been promised Rs. 3 crore by the Chief Minister, K. Rosaiah. This assurance was given when a worried Minister for Minorities Welfare, Mohd Ahmadullah, met the Chief Minister on Sunday and apprised him of the deepening crisis.

Mr. Rosaiah is stated to have agreed in principle to release the amount after his return from Delhi to help the Academy tide over its financial problems.

The financial position is so worse that the Academy has decided to close down its 85 computer training centres and 67 libraries across the State. Worse the 275 employees of the Academy have not received their salaries for the last two months.

The situation has worsened following a steep cut in the budgetary allocation of the Academy from Rs. 8 crore last year to Rs. 2 crore in 2009-2010.

This has a crippling impact on the Academy forcing it to scrap several schemes. The popular Open Schools run in different parts of the State have been shut down.

And so is the scheme to provide computers to Madrasas. For the vocational training and computer education scheme the government provided a mere Rs. 50 lakh this year as against Rs. 3.5 crore the previous year.

“With this paltry amount we just can not run the computer training centres and pay remunerations to the teachers”, remarked a senior official of Urdu Academy.

Employees attribute the pitiable condition of the Academy to the indifferent attitude of Mr. Ahmadullah. The minister, who hails from Rayalaseema, is not familiar with Urdu language and thus has no interest in its preservation and promotion, it is said.

The activities of the Academy as also its finances have taken a beating after he took over the minority portfolio, the employees say.

However, Mr. Ahmadullah assured that the interests of the Academy would be protected at all costs. Not just the computer training programme but other developmental activities of the Academy will be continued as approved in the 2009-10 budget.

The administrative delay in release of budget has given the scope for misunderstanding.

“There is no proposal to wind up the computer centres”, the minister said.

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