No Grant for 8 Years, NBU Pays Salaries From Interest

Siliguri:  Financial strain is deepening at the University of North Bengal (NBU), with the institution reportedly going without a salary grant for more than eight years and relying on interest earned from fixed deposits to meet the wages of its temporary and non-teaching workforce.

According to a report published by Bartaman on Thursday, the university currently has around 469 temporary employees, officers and non-teaching staff, whose salaries are being met partly through interest income from fixed deposits held across the university’s bank accounts. The prolonged funding gap has reportedly left a deficit of around ₹45 crore in the university’s income-expenditure balance.

NBU Joint Registrar Swapan Rakshit said the university spends approximately ₹12 crore a year on salaries for temporary employees, but has not received a salary grant for a prolonged period. “The interest from the fixed deposits in various banks has to be withdrawn to meet those salaries,” Rakshit said, adding that the matter had been repeatedly brought to the government’s attention, but no effective action had followed so far.

University sources cited in the report said the salary grant was being received until October 2017, when the institution received around ₹11 crore annually. The grant helped cover a substantial portion of the salaries of temporary employees. That financial support, however, stopped thereafter, leaving the university to shoulder the recurring expenditure from its own resources.

The funding crisis has come at a difficult juncture for the 64-year-old university. According to the report, student enrolment has declined considerably compared with previous years, reducing another important source of institutional income. The university is also grappling with a reduction in its teaching strength and prolonged administrative uncertainty.

Temporary employees have meanwhile been demanding salary hikes for years and have staged protests over the issue. With the university already struggling to meet existing wage commitments, however, any increase in salaries has remained elusive.

The financial predicament raises concerns about the sustainability of an institution that serves as one of the principal centres of higher education in North Bengal. While using interest income from fixed deposits can provide a temporary cushion, continued dependence on such funds for recurring salary expenditure could gradually erode the university’s financial reserves.

The university’s official website continues to list academic programmes, examinations, admissions and other institutional activities, underscoring that regular academic operations remain underway despite the reported financial pressures.

For now, the central issue remains unresolved: with the salary grant absent for years and enrolment-based income reportedly weakening, the university’s ability to sustain its workforce without drawing further on its reserves remains a growing concern.