Friday, September 20, 2013

College battles faculty shortage, infra

The New Indian Express (Bhubaneswar), Sept.20, 2013
Published: 20th September 2013 10:38 AM
Last Updated: 20th September 2013 10:38 AM
The Bhawanipatna Government Autonomous College is struggling with faculty shortage and infrastructure deficiencies.
Despite the sanctioned posts of 59, the autonomous college is functioning with just 16 teachers.
Even as 42 posts are lying vacant for a long time, no appointment has been made yet. With the existing teachers already overburdened with additional classes, education standard of the college has gone for a toss.
Important departments like Geography, Mathematics, Political Science, Anthropology and Botany are without teachers. In English department, despite the sanctioned posts of eight, there is only one teacher.
In Zoology, against the sanctioned posts of four, there is one teacher.
In Economics, there are two teachers against the requirement of five and against five for Odia, there is just one teacher in that position.
Under these circumstances, most of the departments are being managed by the guest faculty, but the arrangement does not seem to suffice.
“The college, that was once famed for providing quality education, is today witnessing a fall in its standards. Students are not even willing to study in the college anymore,” said a local.
The college, which celebrated its golden jubilee in 2010, had received Centre for Potential for Excellence (CPE) from UGC in September 13, 2004.
While it runs nine post-graduation (PG) and two MPhil courses, there are three other courses that are conducted under the CPE scheme of the UGC.
Two of them - PG Diploma in Computer Application and Certificate Course in Computer Application - are self-financing in nature. Against the sanctioned students’ strength of 3,200, there are 2,550 in the college.
Infrastructure wise, the situation is equally bad. Though students have been demanding opening of MSc, MCom and PG in Geography for a long time, no initiative has been taken by the authorities concerned.
The 100-bed women’s hostel has 300 inmates; construction of a new women’s hostel has been going on from 2009.
Former president of the college students’ union and the present district Biju Chatra Janata Dal president Abinash Thakur said he has sought intervention of the Chief Minister to set things right in the college.
He said all the vacant teaching posts should be immediately filled up for the betterment of students.

No comments: