New Delhi: Thirteen years after it was set up, the South Asian University (SAU) — envisioned by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as a progressive regional forum “for human advancement” for students coming from member nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) — is seeing a decline in enrollment of international students.
Announced at the 13th SAARC Summit in Dhaka in November 2005 and established in 2010 by its eight member nations — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — the SAU offers post-graduate and doctorate programmes in economics, computer science, biotechnology, mathematics, sociology, international relations, and law, among others.
The merit list released by the university for its 2024 admissions serves as evidence of its fall in popularity. In six masters courses — biotechnology, legal studies, mathematics, sociology, international relations, and economics — only Indian student applications appear on the merit list for the second round of admissions. The only exception is in PhD in sociology, with a student from Nepal and another from Bangladesh on the merit list.
Speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, a 29-year-old student from Bhutan, pursuing his doctorate degree from SAU, said two of his batchmates had dropped out last year during the students’ protest.
“All the international students who used to come here are toppers from their countries. Our hope was that we will be treated here with respect in the spirit of regional cooperation…. Now, I discourage aspirants from applying here given the low stipend and hostile attitude of the administration,” he said.
This apprehension stems from the students’ protests that took place last year at SAU. The students carried out a prolonged protest that escalated, leading to the police being called in. The university says that its president was surrounded by the protesting students, prompting the administration to call the police.
The students had been demanding higher stipends and fair representation in redressal committees, among other things.
Four SAU professors were suspended last week for allegedly inciting the student protests.
However, this was not a first for the university. Since its establishment, the SAU has been entangled in various challenges and controversies, ranging from acquiring land for the campus’s construction and appointing faculty members to securing adequate funding and navigating diplomatic relations between member countries.
A professor at the university, speaking to ThePrint on condition of anonymity, said: “SAU was set up at the same time as the likes of Ashoka University and O.P. Jindal University. However, despite having a much larger funding, easier regional access and handsome salaries, SAU has not been able to make itself into a reputable institution to compete with other universities.”
“There are no international seminars (organised by SAU) being held across countries. In fact, despite having a biotechnology department for over a decade the university is yet to bag a patent. This speaks volumes about the research being undertaken here,” he added.
The university told ThePrint that the Faculty of Lifesciences and Biotechnology has already filed six applications to seek a patent.
It added that several international seminars have been organised by the university, including those in Bangladesh and Nepal. Faculty members are publishing in various international journals such as Clarivate Analytics, Google Scholar and PubMed.
ThePrint takes a look at how the university has fared over the years and how several systemic challenges since the very beginning have contributed to the university’s decline.
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‘Teething issues’
At the time of its inception, India had committed to bear the entire expense of building the permanent campus of the SAU in Delhi. The agreement between the eight member nations was that they would share the recurring cost of running the institution.
In 2009, the Indian government reportedly cleared $239.93 million — about 79 per cent of the total cost — as the country’s contribution for setting up the university. Though made functional in 2010, it was initially functioning out of Akbar Bhawan in Chanakyapuri. The permanent campus only finished construction and was made operational in December 2022.
The delay was down to three separate litigations over portions of the 100-acre plot in Maidan Garhi that had been allocated for the university by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), resulting in a stay order from the Delhi High Court.
The first convocation of the university was held in 2016 — six years after it started classes.
Media had also reported on concerns raised by international students over visa issues. The SAARC agreement for SAU included terms for a special visa that was to be issued to the first few batches of SAU students. However, 2016 onwards, students are being issued a regular student visa and the renewal process — meant to be done yearly — remains cumbersome. Moreover, Pakistani students are being denied visas due to worsening bilateral relations and Afghan students have not been able to come to SAU due to the lack of a functional Indian diplomatic mission in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of 2021.
Sanjaya Baru, PM Manmohan Singh’s media advisor and chief spokesperson between May 2004 and August 2008, told ThePrint that the university was a “fantastic idea” that failed to pick up right from the beginning.
“At the setting-up stage, there was confusion regarding under whose aegis it will function — the Ministry of External Affairs or the Ministry of Education,” he said. “What would have done the university wonders and helped it receive regional recognition would have been the appointment of an eminent SAARC scholar with global laureates as its governing head. To add to this, the land for the campus was disputed. With so many teething issues, even PM Singh was unhappy with the way it turned out.”
Issues with governance
As per the South Asian University Act, 2008, according to which the SAU is run, the university has a governing body with two members from each nation which selects a president on a rotational basis. The university has had two presidents in the past 13 years — Professor Gopal Krishan Chadha (2011-2014) and Dr Kavita A. Sharma (2014-2019) — both Indian. The university has been without a governing body-approved president since Sharma’s term ended.
Senior professors and academics involved with the university told ThePrint that the governing body has been made political due to the presence of government officers. There is a dire need for academics to join the body to ensure that educational interest is given importance, they said.
A senior professor associated with the university since its inception told ThePrint on condition of anonymity that, “Since India has already had two presidents, it is now the Maldives’s turn to send its representative. If the university wants to keep its regionally diverse nature intact, it will have to give due chances to other member nations to take charge.”
The governing body of the university has not held a meeting since 2017, a year after the Uri attack.
In the absence of a body making appointments, the university, over the past five years, has been functioning with a temporary president, vice-president and registrar. According to an SAU professor, this has resulted in a lack of accountability and initiative.
The university in a statement told ThePrint in November that the meeting was not held “because of logistical issues”, adding that the “administration is in touch with the chairman of the governing council for decisions”.
ThePrint reached SAU’s acting president Prof R.K. Mohanty via calls. The article will be updated if and when a response is received.
The four professors who were suspended last week over allegations of inciting the student protests last year are not sure if their cases will be heard by the Indian judicial system.
A senior SAU professor told ThePrint, “The SAU has its own set of governing rules. Given the international nature of the university, no one government can take jurisdiction over whatever happens in the university. SAU has its own tribunal which takes important decisions and till then the administration has legal impunity and can do as it deems fit.”
Also read: Study finds SAARC members have better scientific collaboration with others, India leads pack
Financial troubles
The university also faced monetary issues from all sides — whether it was member nations not coughing up their share of funds, or internal financial mismanagement.
As per the agreement signed between member nations, India was to bear 57.49 per cent of the operational cost, said a Deccan Herald report. Pakistan and Bangladesh were required to share 12.98 per cent and 8.20 per cent of the burden, respectively. Afghanistan, Bhutan and Maldives were to foot 3.83 per cent of the bill each. And Sri Lanka and Nepal, 4.92 per cent each.
According to an SAU professor, the university received its first round of funding from member countries, the second round is yet to come. However, given the financial situation of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and a change in government in Afghanistan, the university administration is losing hope of receiving the required funds to keep SAU operational. This resulted in stipend cuts, leading to student protests in 2022.
In addition to this, ThePrint also found at least two instances of financial management in the university over the past five years.
Dr Ramesh Chandra, liaison officer from the Ministry of External Affairs who took on the role of SAU’s acting president in November 2019, was asked to return to his post in the ministry after allegations of financial conduct surfaced against him.
According to documents seen by ThePrint, in 2020 Dr Chandra was directed by the MEA to return the salary and allowances to the tune of Rs 32 lakh, drawn as president of the SAU, since he was not entitled to claim the amount.
The MEA had also stipulated that a sum of Rs 9,99,656 should be recovered from the then Registrar of South Asian University, Dr A.K. Malik, stating that the payment was “inadmissible, irregular and unlawful”.
As per the SAU rules, only an employee or professor of the university can be appointed president. The reason for Dr Chandra’s appointment, according to university officials, was his familiarity with MEA. They said, “Though his appointment was not as per rules, it was borne from the need to have someone in place to convince the MEA to continue funding the operations of the university.”
ThePrint reached Dr Chandra via email for a comment. This article will be updated when a response is received.
In 2022, students had reportedly raised concerns over the financial management of funds by the acting president Prof Mohanty.
They alleged that the current acting president, professor Mohanty, withdrew Rs 19 lakh as travel expenses. They also said that the position of director and deputy director (finance) was held by a single official — Keshav Dutt.
When asked by ThePrint why its annual financial reports were not released, the SAU said these documents are released only after the recommendation of the Finance Committee and Executive Committee and, thereafter, approval of the Governing Board.
It also dismissed allegations of mismanagement, calling it an attempt to “defame the president”.
“The President has withdrawn the transport allowance in terms of the regulations applicable to the post of the President. However, the figure 19 lakh has been wrongly mentioned and inflated to defame the image of the President,” the SAU said previously in an email to ThePrint.
The way ahead
Academics and officials believe that the onus now lies on the Indian government to take the first step and build on trilateral or sub-regional relations with SAARC members to ensure that the university doesn’t lose relevance.
Ashok K. Kantha, India’s former Ambassador to China, Malaysia and Sri Lanka and Director, Institute of Chinese Studies, said that the way ahead for SAU would be India taking a lead in initiating a sub-regional partnership.
“SAARC is now largely defunct and since 2016 there has been no appetite from the side of the Indian government to reinvigorate relations between member nations. However, just like the SAARC satellite, India can use the SAU as a primary regional platform to collaborate with other countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan with whom the country continues to enjoy good relations,” said Kantha.
“The Indian subcontinent is possibly the least integrated region in the world. If that narrative needs an overhaul, then the region expects India to take ownership of increasing economic and social exchange among nations,” he added.
Dr Kavita Sharma, former SAU president agrees. “Countries need to come together and let go of their generational baggage,” she said. “They need to give the newer generations, which have not been marred by the atrocities of the past, a chance to collaborate and bring progress to the region.”
This report has been updated to incorporate SAU’s response and correctly attribute two quotes to a member of the faculty.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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