Following is an excerpt from a report in expressbuzz.
Detailing the steps being taken to develop the education system in the State, he said a university in each district, five medical colleges across the State, IIT and BITS near Hyderabad and law colleges were being set up.
Orissa should do the same with respect to its undivided 13 districts.
October 28th, 2008
In the following figure the red dots indicate where the current universities in Orissa are, including the ones that have been announced, such as the proposed central university in Koraput. As the map illustrates, all the existing and planned universities are in the periphery of the state and the interior districts lack university level higher education opportunities. This needs to be corrected by establishing state universities at the blue marked points: Bhawanipatna, Phulbani, Angul and Keonjhar. In addition, the Rourkela metropolitan area, the second largest metropolitan area in Orissa, needs a regular university. Neither BPUT nor NIT Rourkela serve the purpose. Thus a regular university needs to be established in Rourkela.
October 20th, 2008
Following is the recruitment criteria that is used at Orissa state Universities (except BPUT and OUAT) and perhaps in many other state universities across India.
(a) The Selection Committee shall consists of :-
(i) The Vice Chancellor. (ii) The DHE, (iii) 3 experts selected by the Vice Chancellor from a panel of six names prepared by the syndicate (iv) an expert nominated by the Chancellor in case of appoint to the post of Professor.
The quorum at a meeting of the Selection Committee shall be four of whom at least two shall be experts including the expert nominated by the Chancellor, if any.
(b) Evaluation of candidates
Evaluation of candidates for different teaching posts in the University (Professor, Reader, Lecturer)
1. GENERAL CAREER (30 MARKS)
(a) 1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class
(i) HSC 4 2 1
(ii) Intermediate (+2) 4 2 1
(iii) Degree / Honours 8 4 1.5 (Pass)
(iv) Distinction 2 2 2 (Pass)
(v) P.G. Degree
75 – 100 % 12
65 – 74 % 9
55 – 64 % 6
45 – 54 % 4
(b) Marks for matriculation and Intermediate may be re-distributed as follows in the case of candidates passing Higher Secondary / Pre-University / Pre-Professional etc. in cases where Higher Secondary Examination is initial assessable examination. H.S.C. mark (of 4.2.1) be added to it making it 6, 3 and 1.5 for I, II and III divisions.
1st Class 2nd Class 3rd Class
(i) Higher Secondary 6 3 1.5
(ii) Pre-University 2 1 0.5
(iii) Pre-Professional 2 1 0.5
(c) In case of candidates from Universities / Institutions which follow the system of grades, their grades shall be converted to mark as under:
‘O’ Grade — 75 – 100 %
‘A’ Grade — 65 – 74 %
‘B’ Grade — 55 – 64 %
‘C’ Grade — 45 – 54 %
‘D’ Grade — 35 – 44 %
(d) In the case of candidates with more than one Bachelor’s Degree, only the Degree in the concerned ‘subject’ shall be awarded marks and the Division obtained will be treated at par with the Honours.
2. RESEARCH DEGREE (20 MARKS) :
M.Phil. — 03 Marks
Ph.D. — 10 Marks
D.Sc/ D.Litt. — 12 Marks
M.Phil + Ph.D. — 12 Marks
M.Phil + D.Sc./D.Litt — 14 Marks
Ph.D. + D.Sc./D.Litt — 18 Marks
M.Phil + Ph.D + D.Sc/DLitt — 20 Marks
3. TEACHING EXPERIENCE (10 MARKS) :
PG teaching — 1 Mark per year
Honours teaching — 0.75 marks per year
Graduate level — 0.50 marks per year
4. PH.D GUIDANCE (5 MARKS) :
One mark for each Ph.D awarded
5. RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS (15 MARKS)
10 marks for International Journals and
5 marks for National Journal
6. VIVA-VOCE (15 MARKS)
7. CCRS / PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL REPORT (PAR) – 5 MARKS
The above is ridiculous. May be it made sense in 1950 or 1960 when there were very few Ph.Ds. In the current situation it does not make sense at all. Fortunately, Ravenshaw University is trying to have a different criteria of evaluation than the above.
October 19th, 2008
Following is the PIB report on this from http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=43391.
The Government today gave its approval for establishment of 12 new Central Universities in 12 States and taking over and conversion of 4 existing State Universities.
A new Central University is to be established in each of the twelve States, namely, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu, with Central Government funding, at such location within each State as may be notified by the Central Government.
Further, the Cabinet also approved the proposal for taking over and conversion of Dr. Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, Sagar in the State of Madhya Pradesh, Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur in the State of Chhattisgarh, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Srinagar in the State of Uttarakhand, and Goa University, Goa into Central Universities, with Central Government funding.
The Government proposes to introduce the Central Universities Bill, 2008, in Parliament during the forthcoming session.
In Orissa, the state government has proposed that this university be established in Koraput.
October 3rd, 2008
Following is a report from someone who attended the meeting.
Yesterday we (students + alumni + faculty) had a satisfying meeting with CM. salient points –
(1) Ordinance shall be moved to amend BPUT Act to delist UCE as Constituent College of BPUT
(2) CM agreed to move an Act to convert UCE as an Unitary State University subjected to condition given below
(3) CM asked his officials to examine how much acres can be given to UCE
(4) CM said he will look into our claim for Rs 300 crore infrastructure fund which includes Central Funding of 1/3rd.
CM asked what are the benefits of State University. We talked about 12(B) grant from UGC. We talked about an independent Governing Body who can augment the courses/students/faculty/research. We gave examples of BESU & CUSAT.
This was contested by VC and Industry Secretary Mr Aditya Padhy. They said that –
(a) UGC fund is very small – may be to the tune of Rs 1 to 2 crore a year.
(b) Guindy College is affiliated to Anna University, Pune Engg College is affiliated to Pune University and yet they are quality college. Why UCE wants University status, and resisting affilitaion to BPUT.
(c) Deemed University status is no inferior to State University as both get UGC grant against 12 (B) and get nearly same grant.
(d) Indian Institute of Science is Deemed University and yet the best institution.
(e) After Revensaw became University, the situation has not improved. They are still struggling for faculty & fund. VC said he is Revensaw’s Seante Member and knows the conditions better than all of us.
Though CM agreed our demand for State University, he asked us (as well Industry Secretary) to prepare a note with examples of other institutions as to how State University will help UCE to grow. Report should contain references to the growth of some Unitary State Universities (in addition to BESU & CUSAT) including Revensaw University. Report has to be submitted within a week.
September 25th, 2008
The following excerpt from a news item from the statesman is confusing. It talks about MHRD starting 6 central universities. It is not clear what is happening with the other 24 proposed central universities.
The Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry has decided to allot Rs 6,200 crore to six states including West Bengal, for setting up Central universities.
The funds would be disbursed to the respective states after the plots are identified. Funds will be provided under the eleventh five-year plan, HRD ministry officials said. …
Other than West Bengal, universities will be set up in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Uttaranchal. These states have already identified lands for the proposed institute and have accordingly informed the HRD ministry. A senior official of the ministry said the universities are supposed to come up on 700 to 1,000 acre of land, which are easily accessible.
… The proposed residential university will lay more emphasis on courses in foreign languages such as Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Subjects like engineering, medical science, computer science, arts and management will also be taught in the university. Students from Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Tibet and Singapore are expected to seek admission to the university. The university will also offer courses in Buddhist philosophy, Chinese philosophy and Tibetan philosophy.
September 20th, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.
Students of University College of Engineering (UCE), Burla, launched their three day hunger strike from today staging silent sit-on dharna in front of the administrative building of the college.
The students are demanding Unitary University Status for the oldest engineering college of the State, on the lines of Ravenshaw University, transfer of 400 acres of government land adjacent to UCE campus, hike in annual grant to UCE to Rs 15 crore and special infrastructure development grant of Rs 100 crore spread over three years. The students had launched a stir in October demanding upgradation of UCE to IIT with support from the Alumni Association of the college and locals.
But with the State Government deciding to house the IIT at Jatni, they are now demanding declaring the college as an Unitary University.
The students had apprised the Chief Minister of their demand vide a petition on August 2 and set August 21 as deadline to fulfill the demand.
But with no communication from the office of the Chief Minister for a dialogue over the issue, they resorted to hunger strike. … A delegation of students will be leaving for Bhubaneswar and will try to get an audience with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Governor MC Bhandare.
August 24th, 2008
Update: See http://knowledgecommission.gov.in/downloads/documents/Letter_World_Class_Universities.pdf for National Knowledge Commission’s take on this.
Following is an excerpt from a report in Indian Express.
An all-India common entrance examination, a student-count not exceeding 12,000, the best of faculty with incentives over and above regular pay, a curriculum revised every three years, a semester system, private sector funding, vice-chancellors with at least decade-long teaching experience, collaboration with universities and institutes in India and abroad, academic creativity free from red tapism — all this and more will go into the making of 14 World Class Universities (WCUs) very shortly.
And these sweeping changes are also likely to be applied to all existing universities and 16 Central universities that have recently been approved by the Cabinet. What will change, however, is the nomenclature for the 14 WCUs. Officials say these are now likely to be christened National Universities and the related legislation will be called the National Universities Act.
The basic blueprint for the WCUs has been formulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the first round of discussions, held in New Delhi today, involved academicians, experts, officials from the Human Resource Development Ministry, UGC and Planning Commission.
“There was a very interactive discussion on the WCUs and a major viewpoint emerged. Participants felt there should be a similar legislation for all Central universities, including the 16 which just got Cabinet approval, and all existing universities. The view was that there should be no hierarchy or disparity in standards amongst universities and the reforms and changes suggested for WCUs should be applied to all universities,” an official who attended the meeting told The Indian Express.
“There were strong reservations against the term ‘world class’ and it was decided they will be called National Universities instead,” the official said.
While more discussions will follow, sources said that the UGC and HRD Ministry hope to be ready with a legislation in time for the Parliament session. …
The WCUs are envisaged as unitary universities, like JNU, without any affiliation and multi-facility based, offering subjects ranging from natural sciences, social sciences and humanities to engineering, technology and medicine among others.
Promised autonomy in matters of admission of students and standards for selection, introduction and revision of contextual and innovative curricula, opening of new campuses and new programmes, intake of students, examinations and evaluation systems, faculty recruitment and national and international collaborations, the WCUs are planned as model institutes that will stand apart from existing universities.
That getting the best of faculty is high on the agenda for these new universities is apparent as the concept paper suggest that individuals with high quality research/training experience could be invited to join the faculty even if they have not applied for the job — as is also done in JNU. The universities, the paper says, should also be allowed to develop own hiring policies and pay higher emoluments and non-salary incentives over and above regular pay scales. The blueprint also recommends that private sector funding be permitted as long as it does not compromise academic integrity and autonomy of the university.
While the UGC’s earlier draft on WCUs did not quite impress the Prime Minister’s Office — it is keenly following the ambitious project — the new concept paper is said to have been found to be more “forward looking”. The legislation will also be so worded that it does not lead to rigid bureaucratic controls that stifle quality and creativity and spell out only “what to do” instead of “how to do”.
August 24th, 2008
Following is the copy of the letter that was sent to me:
Sri Naveen Patanaik ji
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Orissa
Sub: State Govt’s response to our demand for “Unitary University” status to our college.
Respected Sir,
In our letter dated 2nd August, 2008, we had requested you to consider the followings:
1) Pass an Act in State Assembly to declare UCE as a “Unitary University” (like Revensaw Univ.)
2) Transfer the free Government land of 400 acers adjacent to UCE campus to UCE.
3) Hike the annual grant to UCE to Rs 15 crore.
4) Give a special “Infrastructure Development Grant” of Rs 100 crore to UCE spread over three years.
We painfully recall that in 2004, our college was the choice of State Government for becoming “IIT”. But, when center agreed to give “IIT”, it was shifted to Jatni. You have written MHRD for making UCE an “NIT”, but we see least possibility of this as the new NITs will go to the states which don’t have NIT now. Therefore, “Unitary University” is the only feasible route for upgrading UCE. We have sought an appointment with Hon’ble Chief Minister, but unfortunately we are not heard.
The students of UCE have never fought for their self. We never come out in support of any such strike by other BPUT students demanding withdrawal of year-back system or so. Our fight is for the prestige and ‘swabhimaan’ of our college. If we are not assured of fulfillment of our legitimate demand by 21st of Aug,08. we will be constrained to take any step that may be required to fulfill it. We will be forced to come out to street and paralyze entire Sambalpur region including the Railways & National Highways. The people across the civic society, student unions of other institutes & political parties have already come forward to participate in our agitation. If this does not attract to notice , we will march to Bhubaneswar and ‘gherao’ the State Assembly and seek explanation from the representatives of people who will assemble there. Yet, we believe, such moments will not come; you will definitely fulfill our legitimate aspiration.
Warm regards,
Students, UCE, Burla
Copy to: Sri Jayanarayan Mishra, Hon’ble Minister of commerce & Transport
Sri Prasanna Acharaya, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Sambalpur Constituency
Sri Kishore Mohanty, Hon’ble Speaker, Orissa Assembly
Sri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Deogarh Constituency
Smt Pramila Bohidar,MP Rajya Sabha
Sri Sanatan Bishi,Hon’ble Health Minister
Sri Surender Lath, MP Rajya Sabha
The Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Northen Division, Sambalpur
The Collector & District Magistrate, Sambalpur
The Incharge, Police Station, Burla
Superintendent of Police, Sambalpur
Vice-Chancellor, BPUT
Industry Minister, Govt. of Orissa
Industry Secretary, Govt. Of Orissa
Principal, UCE Burla
—————————–
This is a just demand. When and if the students get a chance to meet the CM and/or the govt.officials they must request that UCE Burla must be molded in the model of CUSAT, BESU (both are state universities) and the plan in Maharastra and UP to have state funded universities at the level of an IIT. Besides the demand mentioned in the above letter, to make UCE Burla really a top institution some additional steps need to be taken. For example:
- It should be allowed to hire faculty from all over India (not just from Orissa or Oriyas); and have the payscale of NITs and IITs.
- Its seats should be doubled but a significant percent (say 30% or perhaps 50%) should be open to all India admission either through AIEEE or IIT JEE. Because of the doubling of the seats students of Orissa will not lose out.
- In other words, mold it like an NIT or IIT and it will one day be picked to get that level. (This is the same strategey that was done with, say, Institute of Physics, which was made like a central institute, and after some years, it was picked up by the central govt. Similarly, CUSAT takes students from all over India.)
August 22nd, 2008
Update: As per http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=41316&kwd= possible location of 9 of the 10 NITs are:
? … Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttrakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
ï‚· The NIT at Goa may also cater to the needs of Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Lakshadweep.
ï‚· Pudducherry or Andaman & Nicobar may have one common NIT, which will cater the needs of each.
Following are excerpts from the PIB release http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=41190.
… The initiative to set up eight new Indian Institutes of Technology is on course with the first academic sessions starting in 2008 in six of the new IITs in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa, Punjab and Gujarat . The session for IIT Orissa has already been started at lIT Kharagpur in July 2008 and classes will begin for IIT Punjab at lIT Delhi in Sept 2008. And the academic session for the other 4 new IITs, will begin during August 2008.
Out of the 7 new Indian Institutes of Management proposed the IIM at Shillong has already commenced its first academic session from July 2008. The remaining six IIMs will be established in Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Haryana.
The government proposal to set up five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research is on schedule. Of these two IISERs at Pune and Kolkata were inaugurated in 2006-07 and are now fully functional, and the IISER Mohali started its first academic session in 2007-08. Two more IISERs at Bhopal and Thiruvanthapuram will commence their first academic sessions in August, 2008.
Two Schools of Planning & Architecture (SPAs) are being set up at Bhopal and Vijayawada . Classes in both the new SPAs will begin with the academic session of 2008 through temporary campuses. The SPA Bhopal will be mentored by NIT Bhopal while the SPA at Vijayawada will be mentored by SPA, Delhi .
The strengthening of Polytechnics is under way with steps being taken to set up 1000 polytechnics (300 in Government Sector, 300 through PPP mode and 400 private polytechnics); Further 500 existing polytechnics are being expanded and the Community Polytechnics scheme being revamped and their number being increased from 669 to 1000.
Steps are being taken establish 10 new National Institutes of Technology. The likely location of these NITs will be in States/UTs which at present don’t have an NIT.
Sixteen Central Universities are being set up under the initiative seeking to established a Central University in states not having a Central University . Four existing universities; Sagar University in Madhya Pradesh, Bilaspur University in Chhatisgarh, Garhwal University in Uttrakhand and Goa University, are proposed to be taken over and upgraded as Central Universities. The remaining 12 new universities are to be set up in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab , Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Kamataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
14 World Class Central Universities (WCCU), are proposed with the locations being firmed up in consultation with the Planning Commission. The State Governments have been requested to identify suitable land.
A total of 373 degree colleges will be set up in the districts having GER lower than the national average as identified by the UGC. Out of these districts, about 90 districts have been shortlisted which have less than 6% GER, have less than 4 colleges per lakh of population and are also minority concentration districts. It is proposed to fast-track the starting of the degree colleges in these shortlisted districts this year.
Twenty Indian Institutes of Information Technology are planned with NAASCOM having submitted a project report. The setting up of the IIITs under the PPP mode has been discussed with the States and most of the States agreed to tap not-for-profit private investment, while ensuring that PPP should not lead to any erosion of access to the poor sections of society.
Scholarships for College and University students, based on merit, to non-creamy layer students numbering about 2% of the. student population will be given to those who pass out from various intermediate boards. The scholarship will be Rs.l,000 per month for the first 2 years after which it will be of Rs.2000 per month for the balance period of the professional or other courses in Higher Education. Every year about 41,000 boys and 41,000 girls will benefit from the scheme.
The government is working on an Education Loan Interest Subsidy Scheme. It will be a Central Sector scheme for providing interest subsidy during the moratorium period on the educational loans taken by students belonging to "non-creamy" layer for pursuing professional education in India.
All the Central Educational Institutions are implementing OBC reservations as per the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006 from this year onward on a staggered basis and the necessary funds have been released to all of them, after holding the meetings of the Empowered Committees. All the IITs, IIMs and the Central Universities that are covered under the Act have started giving reservations to OBCs in a staggered manner. As a result of the implementation of OBC reservations in this academic year, there is an increase of over 20500 in the intake capacity in the Central Educational Institutions.
The states and union territories that do not have NITs are:
- Delhi
- Uttarakhand
- Goa
- Dadra and nagar haveli
- Pondicherry
- Andaman and Nicobar islands
- Lakshadweep
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Manipur
- Nagaland
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Sikkim
So, I guess the majority of the 10 new NITs will be in these states. My guess would be 2, 3, 5, 8-13. (I skipped 1 because I wonder if there is any space left in proper Delhi for an NIT. The rest that I skipped, 4,6 and 7, are very remote as well as hard to reach places.) That makes 9 NITs. It would be interesting to see where the 10th NIT will be located.
August 8th, 2008
Following is from a news report in Statesman.
Chief minister Mr Naveen Patnaik suggested the establishment of the proposed Central university might be at Koraput and demanded for setting up IIT near Bhubaneswar to start as soon as possible.
In two separate missives to Union minister for human resources development Mr Arjun Singh today, the chief minister noted the establishment of proposed Central university at Koraput would reduce the existing disparity in education in the state. Maintaining that Koraput has been a backward region as far as education is concerned, Mr Patnaik said that besides 500 acres of land, the proposed site has water, power, road and rail connectivity.
"The Jeypore airstrip is just 30 km away from Koraput," the CM pointed out. "The Union government should send a technical team and start the university work soon," Mr Patnaik suggested.
He also put emphasis on the early set up of the IIT. The state government has identified 500 acres of land for this purpose and can make available more land. Assuring that the state government would provide all sorts of required support, the chief minister urged for early start of construction work.
August 6th, 2008
Following is from a report in Pioneer.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday wrote a letter to the Union Ministry of Human Resources, demanding that Burla Engineering College be accorded National Institute of Technology (NIT) status. In his letter to Union Minister of HRD Arjun Singh, the CM said the institution which was established in 1956 in an area of 200 acres, is one of the premier engineering institutes of the State. The institute provides facilities for nearly 500 students.
Following is from Dharitri.
Following are excerpts from a report in Pragativadi.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged the Union Human Resources Development ministry to accord National Institute of Technology (NIT) status to the Burla Engineering College.
… It may be mentioned here that there was a vociferous demand for converting the Burla Engineering College to Indian Institute of Technology soon after the Centre’s announcement to set up an IIT in Orissa.
Later, a delegation of the Old Students’ Forum, led by Sambalpur MLA and commerce and transport minister Jayanarayan Mishra had met the chief minister and submitted a memorandum to this effect.
But the state government later expressed its reluctance in this regard as it wanted the IIT location near Bhubaneswar.
The chief minister, however, urged the Centre to accord the NIT status to the premiere engineering college.
Justifying his contention, Patnaik said that the college has been providing education in nine subjects including the BTech while it has got the necessary infrastructure facility for MCA, IT and other IT related courses.
Considering the fact that the college has the reputation of imparting quality education, the chief minister said that there should be no difficulty to accord NIT status to this college.
It may be mentioned here that the former Regional Engineering College at Rourkela has already been accorded with the NIT status.
This is a good step as there are plans to have 10 more NITs during the 11th plan.
August 3rd, 2008
Various news reports mention that Andhra Pradesh will be having 6 six new universities so that each of its districts have a university. They have budgeted 16 crores for that.
Orissa should follow this lead and have one university in each of its undivided districts. The undivided 13 districts of Orissa were: Puri, Cuttack, Sundargarh, Baleswar, Sambalpur, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Koraput, Phulbani, Dhenkanal, Kendujhar, Ganjam and Mayurbhanj. Among those the six districts Bolangir, Kalahandi, Koraput, Phulbani, Dhenkanal and Kendujhar do not have a university. The Orissa government should take advantage of the central government’s offer and set up a university in each of these districts.
June 22nd, 2008
Following is an excerpt from a report in New Indian Express.
IDCO Divisional head R.K. Nayak said construction of the six-km internal road stretches are scheduled for completion in a couple of months, while works on the administrative block and student centre are moving on schedule. He added that work on the academic block would begin next. It is learnt, in the first phase nearly Rs 9.5 crore would be spent on construction of three buildings.
… Sources said the complete campus would cost between Rs 50 to 60 crore and if everything went as planned, including regular flow of funds, the campus would be ready in four years.
June 3rd, 2008
