Tuesday, August 14, 2012

K’handi tribal varsity delay: NRO rues official apathy

The Pioneer, Aug 14, 2012

It is very unfortunate to realise that when the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and university authorities are willing to establish a regional campus of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) at Amarkantak, negligence and irresponsible attitude of the officials of the Higher Education Department of Odisha has been a stumbling block.
Without necessary infrastructure, the establishment of a branch campus of the IGNTU at a tribal dominated area is getting delayed.
Expressing concern over the matter, NRO (non-resident Odia) Prof Digambara Patra has written a letter to the Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik and urged his cooperation for the setting up of the IGNTU branch.
“This is well proven from the very recent information obtained from the authority of the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) at Amarkantak through RTI Act that the IGNTU at Amarkantak has already received a proposal from the MHRD to open a regional campus at Kalahandi. The State Government was informed to provide infrastructure facilities, including a minimum of 300 acres of land, an approach road and electricity, but no response was received from the Odisha Government. As such the proposal is biting dust,” he said.
Patra pointed out that the Kalahandi ADM had already informed to the FA-cum-Additional Secretary of the Department of Higher Education of Odisha citing availability of the suitable land in Thuamul Rampur. However, it seems after receiving the letter from the ADM, the Higher Education Department stopped taking necessary follow-ups without forwarding the same to the MHRD and the university authorities at Amarkantak for future action, he lamented.
It is catastrophic that instead of catalysing educational development of the State, specifically in a tribal dominated backward region like Thuamul-Rampur, the carelessness of the Higher Education Department officials has been delaying the university, Patra said.

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