Senior Congress leader and Bolangir MLA Narasingha Mishra criticized the state government in Odisha on Wednesday for the extensive vacancies in universities and colleges.

During the question hour, Mishra highlighted the issue, pointing out that Rajendra University in Bolangir has 108 out of 128 sanctioned teaching positions and 145 out of 150 sanctioned non-teaching positions vacant. He questioned the government’s reliance on guest faculties, emphasizing the importance of professors for research studies.

Mishra expressed his dismay at the maximum number of vacant posts in Government Women’s College, Bolangir, and urged the government to apologize for the situation.

He also mentioned the closure of the BEd College in Koraput three years ago, stating that despite the chief minister’s claims of focusing on the KBK (Kalahandi Balangir Koraput) region, educational institutes in the backward region were being shut down.

Mishra stressed that this issue is not limited to one area but is a statewide problem, warning that if the government doesn’t fill these positions, the people will respond accordingly.

In response, Higher Education Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak explained that steps were already in progress to fill teaching and non-teaching positions through the Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) and the State Selection Board. However, due to a legal dispute pending at the Supreme Court, the recruitment process has been halted. The minister assured that efforts are underway to expedite the Supreme Court’s clearance for the recruitment process and that universities are currently engaging guest faculties as an interim measure.

Source: PTI

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