6 Gujarat University colleges ask for permission to close

Five grant-in-aid colleges and a self-financed college in Ahmedabad, all affiliated to Gujarat University, have written to the varsity requesting permission to close this year. 

According to sources, the colleges cited several reasons but the real one is the sprouting of private universities, where these colleges foresee greater benefits.

Sources said every year the university gets requests for closure but this year six colleges have done so, a high number. 

Most of these colleges want to get affiliated with private universities as they feel the grants from the government are not adequate.

The managements of some colleges are also eyeing forays into real estate, sources said. 

Most of these college premises are at prime locations in the city and they feel it would be more beneficial to build shopping malls on these plots or to simply sell the land, rather than run an educational institute. 

Many of these colleges also feel that the government is constantly making rules for grants stricter, due to which it is becoming harder to keep functioning. Sources said one self-financed BBA college on Ashram Road has also applied for closure, as its teaching staff is demanding salaries at the level recommended by the Seventh Pay Commission.