"My greetings to faculty, administrative staff and students of the University of Allahabad along with our alumni and all others on the occasion of the new year. Hope the New Year brings new hopes and new prospects for one and all. As 2021 rolls by and 2022 heralds in, it is time to reflect on the rapid strides the Allahabad University has taken in the past one year. The year has seen a shift of gear as the institution moves ahead with plans, some put into action while others in the pipeline for implementation in the near future. The teachers are one of the key stakeholders in the future of the institution, The positive challenges that these plans have posed before them, have motivated the teachers to put their best foot forward. It is heartening to find them not just putting in efforts to assigned work, but also and taking initiative to propose new ideas and taking up the responsibility to implement these ideas. Around a hundred committees have been constituted to coordinate all the work thus initiated.
One of the priorities I began working on in the beginning of the year was to set up the committee to prepare the roster. The work was successfully completed and the advertisements for recruitment of teachers were brought out. The happy result of the immense effort was that the first selection committee was organized on 22 Dec’ 21 and all others are on the anvil. As the screening gets over, the selection committees will be organized in the respective subjects and new teachers recruited to give the institution the much-needed young blood in the teaching faculty. I must congratulate the team of faculty members who work even over weekends and holidays in the direction.
The Hon’ble Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Smt. Anandiben Patel inaugurated the refurbished Vizianagaram hall in February. The hall now stands in its pristine glory and as the year rolled by, it is finding a place in everyone’s heart and creating ripples of appreciation and interest far and wide. As a part of the Clean Campus Green Campus drive that was initiated in the early weeks of the year, the Science faculty is scrupulously clean and the gardens are being tended to. This has helped create a space where coming to work is also an aesthetically pleasing experience. A committee had been constituted to prepare new integrated programs as per the mandate of the New Education Policy 2020. I feel happy to let everyone know that 12 new integrated programs are on the cards and will commence by 2023. The new restructured 4-year graduation course programme is also under formulation and will be launched in the 2023-24 session.
As a part of the same process, courses in Proficiency for 8 languages have also been formulated and will be launched to boost the language skills of the students in sync with the demands of the times and vision of the NEP 2020. The fatal second wave of the Pandemic and the ensuing shutdown did eclipse all activities but failed to diminish my will to continue working. The university was shut down from middle of March, but I ensured that the classes were held in online mode. The exams were successfully conducted on time and results were also delivered so that our students do not suffer much from the wrath of COVID-19.
A very positive development that I feel immensely happy to share as I look back at the year gone by is that the pending promotion of class 3 and class 4 happened after almost 40 years. When the pandemic was raging and people were struggling for life, the promotion letters were emailed to them giving them a ray of hope and positivity. Some compassionate appointments were also made to help the families, struggling with the loss of the bread earners, find their feet.
Another positive step I took was to complete the pending CAS promotions of teachers. These steps are bringing hope and happiness for the teachers and inspiring them to give their best to the institution. The reopening of the campus was marked by a very colourful convocation which was graced by the presence of the Hon’ble Union Education minister and the Hon’ble Chancellor making it a memorable occasion to be long remembered by all those who participated in it. On this occasion, three new buildings were inaugurated by the Ho’ble Minister including Gargi Mahila Chhatravas, Chandrashekahr Azad International Hostel, Major Dhyanchand Students Activity Centre. The Deendayal Chair was given to the University by the UGC for Five years, on the initiative of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, as announced by the Minister on the occasion. I am happy to share that the advertisement for the position is out and once the appointment is made for the position, research under the aegis of the Chair will ensue. Three more buildings including a hostel for Boys, the Ishwar Topa Complex and the M.N. Saha Instrumentation Centre are also almost ready. The university motto of Quot Rami Tot Arbores was translated into Sanskrit and included in the university logo.
It is an attempt to connect the historic traditions of pursuit of knowledge of the institution to the ancient heritage of knowledge of the country. As the year drew to a close, we were able to bring the famous Hindu Hostel under the wings of Allahabad University. The proposal, I followed up since early this year, had been made several times in the past 20 years but no effort had been made by the university to claim this valuable heritage. It brings valuable infrastructure and land assets to the institution. This has raised a plethora of ideas which can fructify in the campus of this hostel. I plan to explore these possibilities before deciding of the best course of action to optimise the opportunity this has brought in for us. Under the smart city project, a new state of art auditorium, a hockey turf and a new gymnasium has been planned which will help the students in better access to these facilities for various extracurricular activities. Among the other initiatives that are shaping up and in different stages of readiness include an incubation centre to impart advisory to start ups, the CSR cell began to tap into possible resources for future expansion opportunities for the institution, a new creche for the small children of the faculty members.
The coming months will surely see positive results in these and other initiatives. As a new dawn ushers in the university, we realise that so much has happened, so much more is waiting to happen. I acknowledge that so many milestones could not have been achieved if all the faculty members had not put their best efforts together and worked as a team. I hope that the students, the faculty and the administrative staff come together as the university forges ahead in the new chapter of its history we write in the new year. I wish all of you a new year filled with hope, health, and happiness."
(Prof. Sangita Srivastava)
