COVID 19 EMERGENCY FUND OF PEC

Dear students:

I have received several emails from many of you requesting a reduction in fee for the forthcoming semester. There are two kinds of emails. A small number explaining loss of income of their parents due to Covid or otherwise and hence trying to find out if there are ways for them to continue their education at PEC. A much larger number suggesting that due to Covid, due to economic downturn, due to online education, etc., the institute should reduce its fee. I am sure some of these students also have personal financial difficulties.

Unfortunately, we too are going through a serious financial crunch. As you would undoubtedly be aware that there is a serious economic downturn over the last few months, and the situation will only slowly improve over the next few months. This has dented government’s tax collections and at the same time, they have had to increase their allocation for public health as well as to support populations very seriously affected by it. And hence the budgetary allocation for all other activities has taken a serious hit. Our grant from the government is expected to go down by a whopping 30 percent or more compared with last year. On the income front, we are without the first semester tuition of the incoming batch, since their admissions are likely to happen only around 1st January.

So we really do not have the ability to reduce tuition across the board this semester.

Of course, it would be against the ethos of PEC, if someone is unable to continue studies for the reason of affordability. We have initiated a Covid Emergency Fund. We are seeking contributions from all stake holders, including our alumni and faculty members. As a leader, I would be failing in my duty to seek funds without making a contribution myself. I would contribute to this fund sufficient amount to support at least one student. I have also heard from some of my faculty colleagues who are planning to do so. I have also talked to a few alumni who have promised help.

We must believe that we are in it together and must provide all support to everyone who needs that support. Sending a large number of emails essentially blocks my email and compromises my ability to govern. So first of all, I request each one of you to stop sending me emails on this issue. Receiving such a large number of emails also means that I won’t be able to read all of them, and some of them may be from students who genuinely need our support. They will miss out on this support just because their email could not be read.

Next, those who do have genuine financial difficulties, please see what is the best you can do. Can you get a bank loan. Is it only a cash flow issue, and will giving an additional couple of weeks for payment will help. Will you be able to pay part of the fee. Basically, we will have limited resources from alumni and other donations, and if everyone is honest about their needs, we may be able to support them. But if people ask for everything just for the sake of saving some money for their parents, then we will not be able to support even genuine cases.

Finally, I know many of you come from families who can afford to not just pay your tuition and other charges, but additionally make a gift to support your class fellows. I would encourage each one of you to have a discussion with your parents and see if your parents can contribute to Covid Emergency Fund. No amount is small. Even small contributions by a large number of people become a significant amount. Here is the link to making a donation:

https://pec.ac.in/donations/make-payment

ICICI payment gateway has waived all charges for us, and every paisa that you contribute comes to PEC and will be used for this purpose. Please select “Covid Emergency Fund” for the donation. In case of any difficulty, please contact Dean of Alumni Relations, Prof. Divya Bansal, whose email is in CC above.

Later in the semester, we will be publishing an account of this fund. How many people contributed how much money and how many students could get support out of it. We will be listing the students who were supported. I understand that some of you will feel uncomfortable with this list, but remember, we are supposed to give out this information under RTI anyway, and one of the ways we can ensure better targeting of this limited support is to be as transparent as possible in our selection.

Best wishes to all,

-dheeraj
—
Dheeraj Sanghi
Director, PEC Chandigarh
Email: director@pec.edu.in (Not pec.ac.in)
For appointments: padirector@pec.edu.in