Saturday, February 15, 2014

Govt College Gasps under Poor Infra, Staff Crunch

The New Indian Express, Feb 15, 2014
By Uma Shankar Kar - BHAWANIPATNA
The Autonomous Government College of Bhawanipatna, which was accorded the status of ‘Centre of Potential for Excellency’ by UGC in 2005, is struggling to run smoothly for various problems.
Acute staff shortage across the departments has crippled the teaching process. Against the sanctioned posts of 59 in different departments, the college is running with only 14 regular teaching staff while the rest 44 posts have been lying vacant for a long time.
The official figures of teaching staff positions present a dismal picture. Important departments like Geography, Mathematics, Political Science, English, Anthropology and Botany do not have a single teaching staff.
Most of the classes are managed by the visiting faculties. The situation has sparked off resentment among students, guardians and intellectuals. The students alleged that the study atmosphere is not right and most of the departments are managed by guest faculties.
This Autonomous Government College is having MA classes in History, English, Odia, Political Science and Economics. In English and Political Science, the post-graduate as well as under-graduate classes are taken by one junior lecturer each with the assistance of visiting teachers.
In History, one Reader is managing both the under-graduate and post-graduate classes with the help of visiting lectures.
Post-graduate classes in Geography have been suspended for last five years in the absence of teaching staff. Besides, there is no regular principal in the college since 2001.
The long pending demands to set up new science block, start MSc and MCom and restart post-graduate course in Geography are yet to be fulfilled. This apart, cleanliness of the campus and maintenance of the playground have not been undertaken for long. The 100-bed women’s hostel is crammed with 300 inmates while the construction of the new women’s hostel that started in 2009 is yet to be completed.
Expressing concern over sorry state of affairs, president of college students union Hemanta Kumar Nayak has sought intervention of the Chief Minister to improve the situation and pacify growing resentment among the students.
“Unless the condition of this premier educational institution of the district is improved, we cannot dream of development of the backward region,” he added.
Demanding early recruitment of teaching staff for the vacant posts and improving infrastructure of the college, Nayak suggested that the autonomous college should be converted into a university basing on the recommendation of the higher education task force.
In this context, former president of the college union and now Biju Chhatra Janata Dal district president Abinash Thakur said, “The college lacks minimum staff and basic infrastructure. Thus, students are deprived of normal education, leave aside quality education.”
Published: 15th February 2014 09:10 AM
Last Updated: 15th February 2014 09:10 


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