Pune varsity to close down 150 colleges over pending fees

As around 150 colleges affiliated to the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) have not paid their college affiliation fees apart from having educational errors, steps are being taken by the university administration to close down these colleges in the coming academic year.

Currently, the number of colleges affiliated to the SPPU is 783, including 453 in Pune district, 149 in Ahmednagar district, and 181 in Nashik and Dadra Nagar Haveli. The number of colleges for ‘girls only’ is 24 while the number of management institutes is 178 which includes 129 in Pune, 22 in Ahmednagar, and 27 in Nashik. Also, the total number of research institutes is 73 and the number of night colleges is 18. There are around 7.9 lakh students studying in these affiliated colleges.

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While the number of colleges affiliated to the SPPU is the highest among all state universities, more than 45 colleges have become autonomous in the last few years. As per the information shared by the SPPU administration, 150 out of the 783 affiliated colleges have not paid their affiliation fees. As a result, more than ₹1 crore is pending in affiliation fees due to which the management council of the SPPU has decided a few months ago to take appropriate action against these colleges and collect the overdue fees.

A senior SPPU official on condition of anonymity said, “We are in a process of reviewing the affiliation of all colleges with the SPPU. It is noticed that around 150 such colleges have not paid the affiliation fees for years. If they do not pay it now, the university will cancel their affiliation and the colleges will be closed.”