Former HoD of Physics from Sambalpur University and one of the pioneers for establishing the IIM at Sambalpur, Prof Sankar Prasad Pati has urged the State and Central Governments to admit the first batch of IIM Sambalpur at the Indore IIM.
“This could solve the present crisis and IIM Sambalpur can function here smoothly from the next year,” Prof Pati said. Regarding low rate of admission in IIM-S, Prof Pati suggested for a fresh counseling and also relaxation in the cutoff mark so that a few more students could be eligible for admission.
“Since time has run out, it is difficult to develop all infrastructure facilities for running classes in the new campus with library and other facilities as per the IIM status. At the same time, the faculty problem could also be averted totally if the first year students read at Indore,” opined Pati.
He added that in this one year time period, both Odisha and Central Governments could develop complete infrastructure.
It was obvious that the students of IIM would never prefer the campus on the outskirts of Sambalpur town in an old engineering college. But politics worked. And finally, the old private college of a leader completely unsuitable for this prestigious institution was selected for the temporary campus and things happened as expected, he said.
Prof Pati further mentioned that due to the delay in the spot selection and admission procedure, students opting for IIM-S changed their mind.