Odisha HRD

Congress leaders demand that the proposed (during the 11th plan) central/national/innovation university in Bhubaneswar (Update: Or is it the one in Koraput) be named after Utkalmani

Update: Samaja has a report on this where it first says that the Central Univ in Koraput was demanded to be named after Utkalmani and then it says that the central univ in Bhubaneswar was demanded to be named after Utkalmani. See the article at the bottom. I guess different people in the assembly demanded different things.

Following is from a report in Orissadiary.com.

During the 11th Yojna there is a proposal to open a Central University in Bhubaneswar. The Chief Whiff of Opposition Prasad Harichandan Demanded in the House on Friday  to request the Centre for name the University as Utkalmani Central University. Legislature Santosh Singh Saluja also seconded the proposal.

Just to avoid confusion, the 11th plan details are already in place and the central university mentioned above in all probability refers to one of the two central universities (for Orissa) out of the 30 that are being established in India during the 11th plan. Following is a walk through on how the name evolved from "world class central university" to "national university" to "innovation university." However, many still refer to it as central university which has caused some confusion.

On March 28th 2008 http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=36955 it was announced that: 

State-wise List of Cities Identified for locating 14 Central Universities during the  XIth Plan  which would aim to achieve  world class  standards

…

12.        Orissa                           –           Bhubaneshwar

Later on April 21, 2008 it was mentioned in the Rajya Sabha (see http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=37684) 

It has also been decided to locate 14 world class Universities, one each in the 14 States / Regions as detailed in the Annexure.

Later on Dec 16 2008, it was mentioned in the Lok Sabha (see http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=45702 ) 

The Government proposes to establish 14 National Universities aiming towards world-class standards the 11^th Plan period.  A State- wise list of cities identified or locating these universities is annexed.  A preliminary draft of the Concept Paper on setting up of these universities was prepared by an Expert Committee constituted by the University Grants Commission.  The Expert Committee has held extensive consultations with eminent educationists, academics and policy makers.  The relevant recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission have also been taken into consideration by the Expert Committee while revising the draft Concept Paper. The Concept Paper is, however, yet to be finalized by the Committee.

…

9

Orissa

Bhubaneswar

This information was given by Shri Arjun Singh, the Minister of Human Resource Development in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

The February 12th 2009 MHRD press release of MHRD minister Mr. Arjun Singh’s speech written for Bhubaneswar IIT foundation laying (which he did not attend) says the following (see http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=47448) 

The Government of India in its Eleventh Plan has given a major thrust to education. The Central Government has taken several initiatives in respect of new institution building. These include setting up of 30 new Central Universities …

I am happy to say that the State of Orissa is also getting its due share. We have decided in this Plan Period to have in Orissa State, one Central University, one National University aiming for world class standards, …

On July 21 2009, the following was again mentioned in the Rajya Sabha. (See http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=50715)

The Government is considering a proposal to set up 14 Universities aiming at world class standards at the following locations:-

…

14. Bhubhaneshwar (Orissa)

Universities aiming at world class standards would act as exemplars for other universities including Central Universities, in benchmarking standards of teaching and research to those prevailing in the best universities in the world. This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Smt. D. Purandeswari, in a written reply to a question, in the Rajya Sabha today.

Somewhere down the line, the nomenclature changed to "Innovation Universities" and two concept papers for it were made available at

• http://www.education.nic.in/uhe/Universitiesconceptnote.pdf
• http://www.education.nic.in/uhe/Concept-BGP.pdf

Following are some excerpts from the first one: 

… the XI Plan proposes the establishment of 14 Innovation Universities aimed at world class standards. These Universities would be at the fount of making India the global knowledge hub and set benchmarks for excellence for other Central and State Universities.

Past the 11th plan there is possibility of additional central and national/innovation universities. (The Knowledge commission has talked about 50 national universities.) Orissa should be ready for these. In particular infrastructure (read "airport") is often being mentioned as an important criteria; especially for the national/innovation universities. Thus before the 12th plan document starts getting drafted, Orissa must have the Jharsuguda and Rourkela airports in operation and Berhampur linked properly to the Bhubaneswar airport through regular airport shuttle.

In addition Orissa leadership should from the very beginning (of the 12th plan drafting) focus on other parts of Orissa; otherwise Orissa will completely miss out on the new developments of the 12th plan which is only 3 years away. More details on how Orissa government can proactively shape the 12th plan by being prepared and by pushing for institutions that can be established in less-developed places (Balangir, Bhawanipatna, etc.) is discussed in http://orissa2020.org.

Samaja’s confusing report is below.

December 6th, 2009

600 students from Puri area come out in support of Vedanta University

Following is from a report in Orissadiary.com. (I am copying this verbatim. But please visit the original news site and support its sponsors. The picture is from tathya.in)

Puri: A huge rally supporting the Vedanta University and demanding its immediate establishment has been organized today by the  student community of Puri district , here at Puri town. Over 600 students from various colleges of Puri district, under the banner of Youth and Student Forum, Puri (Yuba Chhatra Sangha) came together and staged the rally demanding the establishment of the proposed University. After a peaceful rally, the students submitted a memorandum addressed to the President of India through the Collector, Puri, urging her to take concrete steps for the establishment of the proposed Vedanta University in their region.

The 2 hour peaceful rally started at around 10.30 am from the VIP Road, Puri and ended at the Puri Collector’s office where they handed over the memorandum signed by over 400 students from 8 colleges/educational institutions of Puri district including SCS College, Puri; Suraj Mahal Saha college, Puri; Government Women’s College, Puri; ADM College, Brahmagiri; Delanga College; Sakhigopal College; ITI, Puri, etc. On behalf of the Collector, the Sub-Collector, Puri received the memorandum from the students. Out of the 600 students who actively participated in the rally, 100 were girls.

The President of the youth forum, Mr Bipin Bihari Mishra and its Secretary Mr Atmaram Pandey, have given a detailed report on the need of Vedanta University in the area in the memorandum that was signed by over 400 students from different colleges of the region, clearly mentioning the name of their college, their class and roll number. In the memorandum, the students have spelled out the various reasons for which they demand the early establishment of the Vedanta University. The main reason is that the University will provide opportunity of world class higher education and high end research in several academic

disciplines at one place. Such an educational opportunity would also open up several avenues of employment in the country and abroad. This will be over and above the thousands of employment opportunities that the University itself can provide during its building phase and later on.

“A world-class university with research focus is a much needed thing in the area and Orissa at large. Thousands of people from the area will get direct and indirect employment opportunities with the establishment of this Vedanta University and it will also give opportunity to the students of Puri and Orissa to have world-class higher education at their doorstep. And hence, the government should take concrete steps for its establishment,” the memorandum says. Mr Mishra and Mr Pandey mentioned in the memorandum that even the National Knowledge Commission has recommended the establishment of more multidisciplinary universities like Vedanta University in Orissa and elsewhere in the country.

“While a world-class University is coming up in our area that will change the fate of our students and youth, some people with their vested interests are opposing it with baseless allegations,” they added.

1 comment December 6th, 2009

Status of various newly started central universities

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.
 

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

Adopt an ITI scheme of Ministry of Power and Central Electricity Authority (CEA)

Following is from PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=55194.

LOK SABHA 

There is no shortage of manpower of required qualification in any category, technical or non-technical in the country considering the numbers passing out of the existing schools, colleges and other institutions each year. However, there are shortcomings in the skill set of ITI trained skilled workers for utilization of their services in the power sector. To overcome these, Ministry of Power and Central Electricity Authority (CEA) have taken initiative under “Adopt an ITI” scheme since July 2007. Under this scheme, ITIs are being adopted by power sector CPSUs and Private Project developers under Public Private Partnership scheme of the Directorate General of Employment and Training, Ministry of Labour and Employment to invest in augmentation and up-gradation of the training assets of ITIs around their project areas, especially in respect of trades that are relevant to the power industry. 

This information was given by Shri Bharatsinh Solanki, Minister of State, Ministry of Power in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today. 

PRA/SKK

Orissa should take advantage of this scheme.

2 comments December 4th, 2009

Vacancies galore in IITs, IIMs, IISc & NITs

Following is from a PTI report.

… the Lok Sabha was told today.

The vacancy has arisen due to retirement and resignations in these top institutes, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said in a written reply.

Giving details of the vacancies, he said the faculty position in the IITs stands at 2,983 against the sanctioned strength of 4,267. Similarly, there are 388 faculty members against the sanctioned strength of 468 in the IIMs.

The situation is no different in National Institutes of Technology (NITs) where the faculty position stands at 2603 against the sanctioned strength of 3747.

The scenario is critical in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore where there are only 210 faculty members while the sanctioned strength is 478.

4 comments December 3rd, 2009