Bhubaneswar: Opposition BJP and the Congress Tuesday accused the state government of taking no initiative to fill large scale vacancies in both teaching and non teaching posts in colleges and universities of the state.
Participating in a debate on the admissibility of an adjournment motion in Odisha Assembly, the opposition members also lamented that the state government’s failure to provide funds and infrastructure facilities for the research activities.
Initiating the debate, Bishnu Charan Sethi of BJP accused the government of frequently changing the rules of policies and making experiments in plus two and plus three classes.
He said the infrastructure in the universities for undertaking research activities was so weak that it is difficult to revive the Higher Education.
Earlier, Sethi said earlier Utkal University figured in the top ten universities of the country but now not a single university of the state has been figured in the top 100 universities of the country.
The state government, he said has the money to provide funds for the Biju Yuva Vahini and Ama Gaon Ama Vikas but it has no money for the higher education. The Satyabadi Chair set up in Utkal University to promote Odia language and culture has been closed since 1997.
He said, out of 1,385 posts of lecturers in various government institutions, 790 posts are lying vacant. Similarly out of total 952 posts of professors, as many as 426 are lying vacant.
His party colleague Mukesh Mahalinga demanded appointment of regular principals in colleges and one syllabus for all universities and colleges.
Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra said the legal education in the state suffered as the government has not provided a single rupee to the law colleges in the state.
There are no lecturers in law colleges. The High Court in its ordered has directed the government to provide grants to law colleges but the state government moved the Supreme Court against the judgment.
The case is pending in the Supreme Court for the last 12 years, he said and urged the Minister to withdraw the case from the Supreme court. The Congress leader said large number of posts of lecturers are lying vacant.
Stating that eradication of poverty is not possible without the development of education, Mishra urged the government to fill up the posts of lecturers and professors at the earliest. His party colleague Suresh Routray supported him and urged the government to initiate steps to include the local MLAs in the governing body of the colleges for development of education.
(UNI)