Varsity zeroes in on second campus

The Telegraph (Kolkata), Nov 9, 2009

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 8: The Central University of Orissa, being run from a makeshift campus at Koraput, has zeroed in on another campus to be inaugurated in 2009 academic year.


The campus belonging to Central Silk Board will be used as the second option for the university, said vice-chancellor Surabhi Banerjee.

Currently, the university is conducting its classes in the building belonging to Council of Analytical Tribal Studies (COAT).

Till its permanent campus is operational, these two temporary campuses will be used to run classes, Banerjee added.

While classes in the silk board building will start in a month, classes have begun at the tribal school campus in six classrooms, tutorial rooms, library, teachers’ office, teachers’ and students’ common room and canteen.

The students will be accommodated at Dandakaranya guesthouse and post-matriculation girls’ hostel. The university is one of the 15 new centres to be established by the Centre during the 11th Plan Period to increase access to quality education by people in educationally underdeveloped districts that have a graduate enrolment ratio of less than national average of 11 per cent.

“Our mission is to advocate a wholesome symbiosis of indigenous and global education and develop an exemplary institution,” said the Banerjee. At present, the Central University of Orissa with its 150 students has two schools — a school of languages and a school of social sciences.

School of languages offers postgraduate programmes in English and Hindi, while the school of social sciences offers postgraduate courses in sociology and anthropology along with journalism and mass communication courses.

Talking to newspersons here, the VC said that the university would be setting up five new schools by 2010.

The proposed centres will include schools of basic and health sciences and of development, indigenous and bio-diversity studies.

The full-fledged green campus of the university, coming up over an area of 450 acres, is expected to be functional within three years.

“The blueprint has been finalised. A tentative master plan has also been drawn,” she added.

Meanwhile, the university has collaborated with the British Council, Chennai Mathematical Institute University, Jamia Hamdard and Unesco for academic alliance. The university will also set up a Centre for Peace and Sustainable Development next year with an emphasis on research programmes.

It also proposes to set up a community college in Koraput, added Banerjee.