Committee constituted to investigate or just a gloss over?
Report S. Muneer
Aligarh,The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has lost the count of how much is lost in the scam conjectured to be between 20 crore to 100 crore rupees. The scam is due to non-realisation of fee from students admitted under Not Resident Indians quota (NRI) and in Self Finance Courses (SFC). Incidentally, the issue came to light when confidentiality of an office memo (OM) vide D. no. 101/Stud. dated 23/8/2025 was breached through another OM issued more than a month later vide D. no. 97/FO dated 29/9/2025. The latter OM not being confidential was circulated widely, fully breaching the confidentiality. Interestingly, the Finance Officer (FO) is a signatory to both the OMs.
The former OM was issued confidentially notifying the orders of the Vice Chancellor (VC) instituting a four member Committee to investigate the fee scam. The Committee was to submit its report within 30 days, i.e. by 21/9/2025. However, despite the seriousness of the possibility of a huge financial loss to AMU there is no information regarding whether the report has been submitted even after 76 days. The Committee comprises the Registrar, Controller of Examination, Prof Aftab Alam, Dean, Faculty of International Studies, as VC nominee, and Finance Officer (FO), as the Convener. There is a case pending before the Allahabad High Court, with AMU as a party, regarding the legality of Prof Aftab Alam’s appointment as Dean.
The latter OM breached the confidentiality of the former and declared the members of the Committee and its purpose to investigate non-payment of dues by students admitted under the NRI quota and in Self Finance Courses. The latter OM has created a ultra curiosity on the campus with rumours of deeply embedded corruption in AMU. However, this latter OM, is issued a week after the date the Committee was to submit its report. The OM announces the establishment of a Fee Management Cell under the overall administrative supervision of the Controller of Examinations, a member of the Committee. Some teachers are of the opinion that the latter OM declares the recommendation of the Committee constituted under the former OM and go on to suggest that the effort is to gloss over the entire loss of Rs. 20 crore to 100 crore to AMU. The camouflaging is also exhibited for it claims some finality to the matter by suggesting “…integrated Student Information System…[will be established] that manages the complete student lifecycle, from admission and fee deposition to academic progression and final exit”. The view finds credibility since it has come to the fore that the admitted students under the NRI quota and in Self Finance Courses have obtained their degrees, without having paid their dues. The teachers pointed out that no degree is issued by the Office of the Controller without dues clearance certificate of the student.
The AMU Website shows that there is a Joint Finance Officer of the Student Section, whose duty/function to monitor payment and collection of student fee. The amazing part is that the AMU Website shows “Data not found” under Student Section. A senior professor of AMU says this shows no management was and is in place regarding student fee.
In the meantime, social media has brought to light the view of teachers and students that the practice of not submitting fee has been going on for last several years. The social media has been abuzz with the post that the son of a non-teaching professor, who has been associated for a long time with the top office of the AMU administration, was admitted under the NRI quota paid only one instalment and without paying the full fee completed his course and took the graduate degree of Engineering, without dues clearance certificate, and is presently attending a Masters Course abroad. It is learnt from very reliable sources that the non-teaching professor has very recently, within the last week, submitted the remaining fee due on his son in the University.
This newspaper published a news of a directive from the Ministry of Higher Education, that teachers should be given minimum administrative duties to enable them to attend to their basic duty of teaching and research, the latter OM has appointed Prof Abid Ali Khan, Department of Mechanical Engineering as the advisor to Fee Management Cell with immediate effect in addition to his existing academic and administrative duties. Prof Abid Ali Khan apart from his academic duties is presently the Director, IQAC, a position which can only held by a teacher. Senior teachers of AMU are of a firm view that top office of the University wants only a handful of teachers to take up various assignments in the University clearly indicating that the top office of the University is captured by a coterie, which indicates a deliberate involvement in rampant corruption such as the fee scam.
The teachers of the University are one in opining that the Ministry of Higher Education should institute a high powered Committee to investigate and uncover the loss of 20 corer to 100 crore to AMU fixing responsibility.
In this regard, when the AMU Vice Chancellor and MIC PRO were contacted through WhatsApp messages, no response was received till the time of publishing of this news. Meanwhile, in this regard the Finance Officer has said that There is nothing like that, fees are ok, due to switch over from manual to online mode during covid period,figures mismatch, our technical and fee management team are working on this, hopefully this would be resolved.
