The following were obtained from various sources. I don’t vouch for their 100% correctness. Please use them at your own risk.
September 2nd, 2010
Following is an excerpt from a report in Hindu.
The Central University of Orissa is setting up a medical college and a hospital that will bring health care at the doorsteps of the people in the region.
… “A hospital in the region would bring relief to the people,” the Vice-Chancellor of the University Surabhi Banerjee told TheHindu.
A detailed interim project report has been submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
… a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) for establishing a School of Health Sciences, for collaboration in teaching and research in Masters in Public Health Management. The school will also run courses in Nursing Sciences and Allied Health Sciences.
A similar MoU will be signed with Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore, for training in medical and allied health sciences. … The Delhi-based Jamia Hamdard University has also extended help in the field of allied sciences.
As the university enters its second year at the end of this month, it intends to tie up with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation for setting up a School of Bio-Diversity and Conservation of Natural Resources, and with the Chennai Institute of Mathematical Studies, that will offer a 5 year Integrated M.Sc in Mathematics
Grooming students
“But only obtaining a degree is not enough in today’s competitive world. Personality development is equally important. I have involved the British Council for improving the communication skills of students. The Council has already commenced classes where 75 students have enrolled,” she explained.
In addition to imparting training in Information Technology, efforts are being made to groom and counsel the students before they are ready to “take off.”
At present, 150 students from across the country have been enrolled in the University in the School of Languages and the School of Social Sciences. The former offers Post Graduation courses in English and Oriya, while the latter provides Post Graduation courses in Anthropology, Sociology and Mass Communication and Journalism. The Academic Council has also approved Ph.D Programmes.
Professor Banerjee is also working on a proposal to start an Institute of Marine Biotechnology.
The headline of the above mentioned Hindu report says: "Orissa Central University to set up medical college, hospital." But the content only says that they have submitted a DPR. It does not say that MHRD has agreed for the medical college. It is possible that MHRD is trying to not publicize it at this stage and thus has just encouraged CUO Koraput for the medical college and thus they have sent the DPR. In other words it is not a done deal until MHRD agrees to the proposal and the budget gets passed. We need to see in March 2012 if it is in next year’s budget.
Nevertheless kudos to VC of CUO Koraput as timely sending a DPR is important. Earlier in February 2010 the news was that she was about to send a DPR. Now she has sent it. So that is a good step. Also, now that the DPR has been sent the state can more forcefully lobby for the DPR to be approved. (Before sendng a DPR a tactics that is often used by various ministries when asked for something is: "Send us a proposal or DPR.")
August 26th, 2010
Earlier we wrote about some proposed schools and centers of CUO Koraput. Following is from the Newsflash page of the university.
- Exchange of Memorandum of Understanding between Prof (Dr.) Surabhi Banerjee, Vice Chancellor, Central University of Orissa and Dr K .Srinath Reddy, Chairman, Public Health Foundation of India on 8th May 2010.
- The University has signed an MoU with the British Council, Eastern Region for Skill Development Programme in English by the English Language Experts as per the MoU.
- Signing MoU with Chennai Mathematical Institute University (Professor C. S. Shesadri, Director ) for proposed collaborative programme in M.Sc. in Mathematics.
- The University has taken steps to set up the following new schools / Centre from the Academic Year 2010-2011:
- School of Basic Sciences – Mathematics, Statistics and Information Sciences (Integrated Programme)
- School of Health Sciences – Nursing and Allied Health Services, Public Health and Community Health.
- School of Development Studies – Economics.
- School of Education Technology – M.Sc in Education Technology.
- Centre for Tribal Welfare and Community Development.
The proposed collaboration with PHFI and CMI are really great moves.
July 12th, 2010
Update: Following is from Samaja.
This is a good move. We need more locals in KBK with expertise in public health issues.
May 9th, 2010
The following is extracted from the latest CUO prospectus available at http://cuorissa.org/Central-University-of-Orissa-koraput-india/files/2032010KprospectusCUOdraft%5B1%5D.pdf.
The current schools and centers are:
- School of Languages
- Center for Odia language and literature
- Center for English language and literature
- School of Social Sciences
- Center for Anthropological Studies
- Center for Sociological Studies
- Center for Media Studies
It proposes the following schools and centers.
- School of Basic Sciences : (a) Mathematics
- School of Health Sciences: (a) Nursing, Public Health and Community Health
- School of Development Studies: (a) Economics
- School of Biodiversity and Conservation
- School of Education technology
- Center for Indigenous Studies
April 27th, 2010
From the prospectus cover:
The logo of Central University of Orissa symbolizes the pride of the Nation and stands for search of knowledge. The wheel inside the symbol signifies progress, prosperity and betterment of the human being and has been inscribed in the famous Sun Temple of Konark, Orissa. The textbook inside the symbol denotes the wisdom and source of knowledge. The flame crated in front of the textbook reflects a ray of hope, source of light to overcome ignorance and darkness through the enlightenment. This design represents the universal brotherhood, unity and integrity which is closely associated with the State of Orissa.
The last date for submitting application was April 19th 2010. This year it offers the following courses:
- MA in Odia
- MA in English
- MA in Anthropology
- MA in Sociology
- MA in Journalism and Mass Communication
Its prospectus available at http://cuorissa.org/Central-University-of-Orissa-koraput-india/files/2032010KprospectusCUOdraft%5B1%5D.pdf has a lot of materials regarding the plan of the university. We will write about them in a later posting.
On related news Central Universities of Kashmir, Jharkhand, Bihar, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are planning a common entrance test this year. The CU Tamil Nadu will be conducting the test. However, I could not find information about this in its web page. I guess their plan came too late for other central universities, such as CU Orissa, to participate in it.
April 26th, 2010
Following is an excerpt from a report in Expressbuzz.com.
The Central University here will soon set up a medical college and hospital in Koraput. Vice-Chancellor Surobhi Benerjee announced this in a release today.
The university is now in the process of submitting the detailed project report (DPR) to the appropriate authorities.
She also said there would be a detailed discussion with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in this regard tomorrow.
Moreover, the university is going to start a school for bio-diversity and conservation of natural resources in collaboration with M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai.The authorities of the MSSRF have agreed to provide all support in establishing the school and run collaborative PG programmes. …
COMMUNITY RADIO: Besides, the university will set up a community radio station in Koraput for the development of the tribal community. A proposal for commissioning the radio station had been submitted to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The university is also going to set up a centre for community welfare in Koraput.
SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCE: Further, the university will sign an MoU with Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi, in the area of nursing and public/ community health for its proposed school of health science (Nursing, public health and community health).
February 2nd, 2010
Following is from a report in Indiaedunews.
Proposed Central varsities in two remote areas of the country – Bihar and Kerala have received a denial from the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry to host new Central universities for their states.
Far-flung Motihari and Kasargod in Bihar and Kerala respectively do not qualify up to the desirable standards for a site to be constructed for such universities as they lack the physical and social infrastructure to proceed.
The ministry is learnt to have asked the two states to come up with an alternative location for the set up.
The Central government clearly opposed the stand of the State governments, academics and development votaries who stood by the decision to host the new varsities in the remote areas of the country, which will boost its economy and help in creation of new and additional infrastructure.
The necessary conditions needed for the set up of a university in both Motihari nad Kasargod area are not feasible due to poor access, connectivity and lack in infrastructure in the form of good schools which are vital to attract quality faculty in the varsity.
While Kasargod, located in the northern part of Kerala suffers serious connectivity issues, Motihari in East Champaran in Bihar is considered a backward region.
The ministry felt that constructing such institutes in these areas will mar the whole criteria of establishment since they would not be able to provide quality education through qualified teachers, as they would not be interested to enter in such areas.
A similar problem has been faced by the Central University at Koraput in Orissa which is facing a serious faculty crunch in terms of quality.
Lack of adequate facilities, along with absence of good schools and hospitals are proving to be deterrents for the faculty who are unwilling to shift over to such areas.
In regards to Koraput, Orissa government needs to take some proactive steps quickly; before the problem becomes worse. Earlier we suggested the following.
- Start a daytime train between Bhubaneswar and Koraput. The distance between them is 679 kms. (Note that Koraput has daily overnight trains to Bhubaneswar and Howrah and a new daily train to Rourkela has been announced in this year’s budget.)
- Start an intercity between Visakhapatnam and Jeypore via Koraput. (Distance is 258 kms.)
- Open a knowledge park of 200 acres near the central university. This knowledge park should contain an STP, and other amenities. the state should invite trustees of some of the top private engineering colleges to establish educational institutions such as engineering colleges in this knowledge park.
In addition, the state should vigorously pursue the proposed airport in Jeypore.
December 31st, 2009
Following is extracted from Swaha Sahoo’s report at http://in.news.yahoo.com/32/20091203/1053/tnl-makeshift-universities.html. It originally appeared in Hindustan Times. (The article has the first name of the CUO VC wrong. Her name is Surabhi Banerjee and not Saswati Banerjee.)
- Central University of Orissa, Koraput: Started with four teachers taking post-graduate courses in English, Oriya, sociology, anthropology and tribal studies, and journalism and mass communication. One lecturer left soon after joining."We are not short of faculty and have visiting teachers. The procedure to appoint regular faculty takes time," said vice-chancellor …. The university has plans to appoint 15 faculty members initially. With 150 post-graduate students … Guest lecturers are not too keen on visiting the Central University of Orissa because reaching Koraput, 450 km southwest of state capital Bhubaneswar, is difficult. A single passenger train a day runs from the state capital Bhubaneswar and takes 18 hours to reach Naxal-affected Koraput. The closest airport is in Vizag in Andhra Pradesh, a five-hour drive. "Unless some sort of infrastructure development happens in and around the central universities, attracting faculty and providing quality education will be difficult,” said … Banerjee.
- Central University of Haryana, Mahendragarh: Lord Krishna Central University of Haryana has been functioning temporarily from the Government Education College at Narnaul, the headquarters of Mahendergarh district, about 130 km west of Delhi. There is no place for teachers and students to stay at the college campus. There is a community health centre (CHC), only one cinema hall, a government school, and a few private schools in Mahendergarh. About 40 km from this place, about 500 acres of panchayat land for the university is under transfer. The process of admission for the M Phil and Ph D courses in English, Economics and Political Science is on. The temporary administrative office of the university is in Gurgaon, adjacent Delhi.
- Central University of Bihar: The state government wants to set up the central university in Motihari, 135 km north of Patna. Vice-Chancellor Janak Pandey has proposed for setting up a multi-centre campus, with Motihari as the main venue. Motihari does not have air connectivity. The university is functioning at a makeshift campus in Patna, mostly with teachers on contract from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and the Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur. … In Bihar, the HRD ministry has attached conditions to the state government’s proposal for a central university at Motihari, 135 km north of Patna. Sibal wrote to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in October that the state government should develop infrastructure such as roads and air connectivity as soon as possible.
- Central University of Kerala: .. began two interdisciplinary courses – MA in Comparative Literature and Economic Theory and Global Governance – while only five of the 25 seats in Economics and 15 of the 25 seats in English filled. Teacher shortage …
- Central University of Gujarat: … 25 posts have been sanctioned, but since recruitment is yet to take place, the university has begun functioning with three teachers on contract, temporarily in Gandhinagar. Land is yet to be allotted.
- Central university of Karnataka: “We have constructed just a boundary wall on the 621 acres of land handed over to us and will soon begin construction,” said A.M. Pathan, vice-chancellor of the Central University of Karnataka.
- Most of the universities have come or are slated to do so in educationally backward areas such as Koraput (Orissa), Thiruvarur (332 km south of Chennai), Gulbarga (663 km north of Bangalore), Mahendragarh (in Haryana; 130 km from Delhi), Kasargod (650 km north of Thiruvananthapuram) and Bathinda (Punjab; 146 km west of Chandigarh). The following have temporary locations: Patna, Brambey (20 km west of Ranchi in Jharkhand), Jaipur, Gandhinagar and Kasrgod. The ones in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir have not started functioning.
- … only five central universities (Haryana, Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab and Tamil Nadu) have managed to find land for setting up permanent infrastructure.
- In Himachal Pradesh, for instance, the dispute between the state and Central governments has come in the way of setting up the campus.
The following table from http://www.orissa2020.org/appendix/location-of-new-central-universities gives a bit more information on the locations.
| City – Metropolitan area |
State |
Metro population |
| Gandhinagar – Ahmedabad (temporary?) |
Gujarat |
5,334,314 |
| Srinagar |
J & K |
1,104,489 |
| Khunti, Ranchi |
Jharkhand |
1,066,449 |
| Jammu |
J & K |
690,924 |
| Bikaner |
Rajasthan |
624,577 |
| Gulbarga |
Karnataka |
534,417 |
| Sagar |
Madhya Pradesh |
351,537 |
| Bilaspur |
Chhatisgarh |
319,129 |
| Bathinda |
Punjab |
269,520 |
| Koraput-Sunabeda-Jeypore |
Orissa |
200,000 |
| Motihari |
Bihar |
121,475 |
| Tiruvarar |
Tamil Nadu |
61,270 |
| Kasaragod |
Kerala |
52,683 |
| Tehri Garhwal |
Uttarakhand |
25,425 |
| Mahendragarh |
Harayana |
23,977 |
| Kangra |
Himachal Pradesh |
9,155 |
These are all teething problems and as the campuses get built things will change for the better. Despite these problems, it is wise that many of the states picked the backward areas for these universities.
Some of the things the Orissa government needs to do is:
- Start a daytime train between Bhubaneswar and Koraput. The distance between them is 679 kms. (Note that Koraput has a daily train to Howrah and a new daily train to Rourkela has been announced in this year’s budget.)
- Start an intercity between Visakhapatnam and Koraput. (Distance is 216 kms.)
- Open a knowledge park of 200 acres near the central university. This knowledge park should contain an STP, and other amenities. the state should invite trustees of some of the top private engineering colleges to establish educational institutions such as engineering colleges in this knowledge park.
Another point to note is that Central University of Bihar VC is planning a multi-center campus. CU Orissa should do the same and have multiple centers in the KBK region.
December 5th, 2009
November 16th, 2009
Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.
The newly established Central University of Orissa at Koraput aims to set up five new schools in the academic session of 2010.
The proposed new schools include the School of Basic Sciences, School of Health Sciences, School of Development Studies, School of Indigenous Studies and School of Biodiversity Studies.
… The new schools would offer courses in subjects like mathematics, economics, nursing, pharmacy and community health.”For starting the School of Health Sciences, the Central University of Orissa is mulling tie-ups with Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi and for School of Community and Public Health with the University of Minnesota, US.
The Central University of Orissa will set up a Centre for Peace and Sustainable Development next year. The University also intends to run joint research projects and programmes with the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, New Delhi. The Central University plans to offer PHD in five subjects- English, Hindi, sociology, anthropology as well as journalism and mass communication from 2010.
“We are going to sign a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the British Council for holding English language teaching workshops once in every three months. Our university will also enter into a MoU with the Chennai Mathematical Institute University (CMIU) and under this MoU, the faculty from CMIU will visit our campus from the 2010 academic session”, said Banerjee.
At present, the Central University of Orissa has two schools- School of Languages and School of Social Sciences. While the School of Languages offers post graduate programmes in English and Hindi; the School of Social Sciences offers post graduate courses in sociology, anthropology as well as journalism and mass communication.
Now the following is from Dharitri.
One needs to take note of the underlined sentence. I think in future when we have central institutions in "remote" areas, we should at least let it start for a year in a less remote location so that when they are depending on visiting faculty they are able to attract them. Once they hire permanent faculty the remoteness of the location will become less relevant.
October 23rd, 2009
Recently there was some news reports regarding 7 new IIMs. This resulted in reactions from various circles in Orissa, including the CM. The CM shot off a letter to the PM. As per a report in Times of India:
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Naveen protested the Union government’s decision to ignore Orissa’s "repeated demands" for an IIM.
The Biju Youth Janata Dal has threatened a stir. As per a report in ExpressIndia.com:
The Biju Yuva Janata Dal (BYJD) has threatened to launch a State-wide agitation if the Centre does not consider the State Government’s demand for the establishment of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Orissa.
Even the Oriass Pradesh Congress Committee has chimed in. As per another report in Expressindia.com:
However, the Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) has demanded establishment of an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in the State.A memorandum was submitted to Sibal by the OPCC at the Congress Bhavan here today.
The memorandum maintained that as Orissa is witnessing rapid industrialisation, the necessity for setting up an IIM is increasingly felt.Stating that such an institute will accelerate the economic development and consolidate the quality of human resources development in Orissa, OPCC requested the Minister to announce an additional IIM for the State along with the seven announced by the Centre.
Besides, OPCC demanded establishment of one national tribal university on the lines of Indira Gandhi Tribal University at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh in view of the heavy concentration of tribal population and their economic backwardness.
In a sense this is a good development as this shows that the politicians in Orissa are now aware of the importance of Orissa getting its share of centrally funded institutions. However, their knowledge is half-baked. The news they are reacting to is not a new announcement. On March 28, 2008 when an IIT and 2 central universities for Orissa was announced, there were announcements of new IIMs. At that time it was made clear that the new IITs and IIMs were announced in different states. So based on that, Orissa has nothing to complain about. It got an IIT instead of an IIM. An IIT costs 4 times than that of an IIM and can have its own management school.
It would be good to have an IIM in Orissa. But now the central govt. is stretched to implement the new IITs, IIMs and central universities it has announced for the 11th plan. So it is very unlikely that they will make any commitments for a new IIM. (The IIM in Rajasthan was a recent addition to the list announced on March 28, 2008. It was because of a typo in the speech of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee; but the govt. decided to honor his speech.)
What Orissa can do is follow the path of Andhra Pradesh which made a deal with IIM Ahmedabad for a campus in Hyderabad. Orissa can approach one of the other IIMs and make a similar deal for an IIM in Orissa. Because of the proximity, IIM Calcutta would be a good candidate. For now that is the best path. In addition, it should be ready to push hard for an IIM when the 12th plan documents are made.
Finally, what Orissa should be really doing is to focus on the 11th plan documents and budgets and make sure it gets its fair share. For example, the 11th plan document mentions that 5 of the new central universities will have a medical and engineering college during the 11th plan. Orissa should push Central University of Orissa, Koraput to be one of those 5 universities.
August 31st, 2009
Our sister site in Twitter is http://twitter.com/orissalinks. (Often when we are busy or do not feel like writing a full posting here, we post a micro-blog in our Twitter sister site. The Twitter sister site also automatically adds the headline from this site and the orissagrowth site. Once in a while we will collect those headlines here. But readers wanting a broader and more immediate coverage should consider following our Twitter site at http://twitter.com/orissalinks.) Following are some selected items from that site since July 12th.
August 20th, 2009
July 19th, 2009
Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.
Central University, Koraput has requested the Centre to set up a medical college there in a bid to provide better medical facilities and educate local tribals.
"I have suggested the human resources ministry to build a medical college here because I feel the area needs it. But the final nod is yet to come from the ministry," CU vice chancellor Surabhi Banerjee said.
"Locals have to travel either to Vizag or to Berhampur to avail medical facilities and both these places are over 200 km away from here. The medical college will not only improve the quality of life of locals, but also provide scope for research in several diseases common here," Banerjee said. CU has also identified about 100 acre of land for the proposed medical college.
Banerjee said there are also plans to set up a nursing college. Several other need-based, region specific innovative courses will also be introduced. From the 2009-10 academic session, CU is initially beginning with five subjects. The school of language will offer English and Oriya while the school of social science will offer sociology, anthropology and tribal Studies and journalism and mass communication.
"We will take 30 students in each department. The faculty is being recruitment and we will begin classes from August. we will also appoint guest lecturers to take classes," the vice-chancellor said.
… CU also plans to introduce courses like maritime studies, disaster management, disaster management, environmental studies, rural development, and forestry under the choice based credit system. The university will initially function in the buildings of Silk Board and the local Jagannath temple until its own buildings are constructed.
Kudos to the VC for taking the above steps.
July 14th, 2009
Update 2: Tathya reports that the site mentioned below is not chosen by MHRD. They pick a site near Sunabeda.
Update1: Tathya.in has a report comparing the two sites that are in contention.
Following is from Dharitri.
June 15th, 2009
Following is an excerpt from a report in Times of India.
UGC sanctioned posts of one professor, two associate professors and three assistant professors for each course in these universities. These universities will offer undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil and PhD courses. The admission process will begin from this academic year itself. They were already given a small budget to start their camp offices.
On Wednesday, UGC chairperson Sukhdeo Thorat had said these universities might try to get faculty from among Indians settled abroad as well as foreigners.
Meanwhile, search for the site of six universities — in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala — continues. In Haryana, the new university will be in Mahendragarh, while the one in Punjab will be in Bhatinda. The one on Karnataka will be in Dharwad and the one in Tamil in Tiruvarur. In the case of Orissa, the likely site will be in Koraput and for Jharkhand it is likely to be Khunti. Three existing universities — Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya in Chhattisgarh, Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya at Sagar (MP) and Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna University in Uttarakhand — were upgraded as central universities.
May 29th, 2009
Update: Hindu also reports on it. In regards to the location of the permanent campus, Hindu says the following:
While speaking very high about the proposed location for establishing the university which is situated between the railway station at Koraput and Danagadeola village over an area of 565 acres of government land she said that over the next five years the university could become one of the major attractions even for the tourists for its unique green campus resembling that of many world class university campuses in the other parts of the globe.
Following is an excerpt from a report in the Pioneer.
Vice-Chancellor of the Central University, Orissa, Dr Surabhi Banerjee informed that the classes in the university at Koraput would start from August this year. The university would function temporarily at the COATS (Council of Analytical Tribal Studies) and the courses would start from under-graduation to higher studies, she said.
…, the VC visited Deola village where the proposed university will be set up over 575 acres of land. … She thanked the district administration to locate such a suitable land and … After visit of the representatives from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the construction work would be carried out on their approval, she said.
There will be an entrance test for taking admission into the university and the entrance test would be conducted in around 15-16 centres all over India and for Orissa in Koraput, Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur. Subjects like English, Oriya, Social Sciences, Anthropology, Tribal Studies and Journalism and Mass Communication would be taught in the university, besides other higher and professional courses. Different kinds of schools will be opened on the campus like the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the head office of the university would function at Koraput and the transit office to recruit lecturers, readers, professors, management and other staff will function at Bhubaneswar, the VC informed.
The Central Government has approved the university for five years for the time being and the classes would start in the COATS which is being managed by Sabara Srikshetra Jagannath Mandir Management Committee and the existing Gyan Mandir, library and tribal museum are an added advantage for the students of the university, she said.
Among others, Registrar BK Mishra, Financial Advisor P Pati and Liaisoning Officer and Coordinator Ganesh Chandra Roul attended the Press conference.
May 25th, 2009
Following are excerpts from a report in tathya.in.
Professor Banerjee met the Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here to apprise him the developments on the new varsity front.
She is clearly defensive and said that the campus will be at Koraput and classes will start in August next. …
During the meeting with Chief Minister, she made it clear that the Campus will be at Koraput.
She said that there seems to be some misgivings about the Second Campus at Bhubaneswar.
Prof. Baneerjee seems defensive and said that all out efforts are being made to start the Campus at Koraput.
Mr.Dasverma was outraged over the decision and demanded action against the people concerned.
Young NROs led by Digamabara Patra created huge stir in both the state and at national level.
Professor Patra wrote it to the Prime Minister, Minister HRD and Chief Minister.
More than 100 students, teachers, educationists and members of the civil society demanded immediate action by sending e-mails.
All of them demanded that if et al the second campus will be opened it should start at Bhawanipatna in Kalahandi.
The Chief Minister’s Office(CMO), was flooded with e-mails from all parts of the world and the mandarins were worried over the matter.
Bijay Kumar Patnaik, Principal Secretary to CM took up the matter seriously.
And Prof.Banerjee was summoned to clarify the factual position.
Madhu Sudan Padhi, Secretary Higher Education department, who did not buy the idea of Second Campus of CUO here, before starting the original campus at Koraput.
Mr.Padhi asked her to make arrangements in Koraput.
Prof. Banerjee is now under pressure to start classes at Koraput.
Following is from Samaja.
May 8th, 2009
The tathya.in article is at http://www.tathya.in/2009/story.asp?sno=2873. Following are some excerpts:
… now its officials were not in a mood to go to the tribal dominated district.
The reason: lack of facilities like airport and modern health care units.
Surabhi Banerjee had been appointed as the first vice-chancellor of the central university at Koraput.
But, Prof. Banerjee, is in no mood to move to Koraput.
Sources said, the VC had been persuading the state government officials to open temporary campus of the varsity in the state capital instead of going to Koraput.
The newly formed central university authorities claimed that the academic activities could begin from temporary campus here till the building was constructed at Koraput.
By the time, the building would be over; Prof Banerjee’s term could end.
The Samaja article is as follows:
Considering the lack of higher education opportunities in KBK and Koraput, the Central University should be started, even in the short term, from Koraput. I am sure some rented accommodation and quarters can be obtained in the nearby Damanjodi and Sunabeda townships. In the worst case, if something is done in Bhubaneswar, under absolutely no circumstances, it should go beyond one year. The Vice Chancellor should plan to move to Koraput as soon as possible, and under no circumstances, should stay outside of Koraput, beyond a year. Otherwise, perhaps she can move to another university and CUO Koraput is assigned a new VC who is not averse of staying in Koraput.
Finally, even if the goal is to have multiple campuses of the central university across the state, there is no need to have one in Bhubaneswar. The second and other campuses should be established in KBK and other areas of Orissa which lack universities. The Bhubaneswar area has many universities and a National University is about to be established there too. So there is absolutely no need to have a campus of the Central University of Orissa (Koraput) in Bhubaneswar.
April 26th, 2009
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