Despite repeated reminders and deadlines from Panjab University, 12 non-government affiliated colleges in the state have failed to appoint regular principals in accordance with university regulations.Deputy Registrar (Colleges) has now asked the colleges to appear before the affiliation committee on September 11. Letters have been sent to the presidents of the governing bodies of the respective colleges in this regard.Last October, the colleges were sent reminders to appoint regular principals. Show-cause notices were later issued in December to those that had failed to take appropriate steps to comply with the instructions.Last year, there were 42 such colleges. The number has now come down to 12, which have still not complied with the rules and are functioning under officiating principals beyond the prescribed six-month limit laid down in the PU Calendar. Four of the 12 colleges are from Ludhiana.The university has also raised serious objections to official correspondence being sent under the signatures of unapproved officiating principals or teachers appointed by college managements.The 12 colleges without regular principals include Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh; MBB GGG Girls College, Rattewal, in SBS Nagar district; DAV College of Education, Abohar; Baba Kundan Singh Co-education College, Ferozepur; Guru Nanak College, Cantonment Area, Ferozepur; Dasmesh Girls College of Education, Badal, Muktsar; Guru Nanak College, Moga; Arya College, Ludhiana; Gujranwala Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Ludhiana; Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College for Women, Kamalpura, Ludhiana; Malwa Central College of Education for Women, Ludhiana; and Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Hoshiarpur.Surjeet Thakur, Deputy Registrar (Colleges), Panjab University, said the affiliation committee had called the presidents of the governing bodies to appear before it as principals cannot continue in office beyond six months.Dr Varun Goel, executive member of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU), said a principal cannot hold office beyond six months. “They can do teaching but not administrative work. Absence of a regular principal is affecting teachers’ rights and students’ interests,” he said.