Higher education is in an utterly horrible state in Odisha as the Government has cast a blind eye to several problems besetting the system.
During the last one and a half decades, the Ministers have managed to evade the heat while answering to queries inside the Assembly by just making assurances to plug the loopholes, but subsequently they left the problems where they were. Consequently, the wounds have been festering every passing day.
Recently, Higher Education Minister Pradeep Panigrahi like his predecessors has presented statistics in the House on the dismal state of higher education and also revealed the steps being taken to solve the problems. But given the past records, it can be conveniently guessed that no significant change will take place.
Starting from teacher vacancy, lack of permanent principal, inadequate infrastructure and indiscipline to various problems of the teachers such as Block Grant, denial of promotion and UGC scale and teachers not getting any salary, the colleges in various categories are choked with handicaps.
The Government, thanks to fund crunch, has not been able to rectify the errors thereby depriving millions of quality education.
Barring a handful of colleges in the towns and cities, where the teaching and study ambience is healthy, a major chunk of institutions are running through rough weather. These colleges do not have regular principals, while the staff members are not getting due salary for long years due to Block Grant policy of the Government. In absence of regular principals, the senior most ones are running the show as in-charge, but the quick fix arrangement has hardly helped restoring a healthy administration in the institutions. For example, the principals in the 622 block grant colleges are functioning autocratically virtually in absence of any outward monitoring. Financial irregularities are a common affair in the institutions and only an appropriate probe can establish the truth. Sadly, no audit of their accounts has been done by the Government as yet.
The fully aided colleges in the 488 category and Government Colleges are crippled by staff shortage and indiscipline. The teachers in the State scale are frustrated over a long time as they are not getting promotional facilities and UGC scale. The inability of the Government to segregate Plus II from Plus III is also a hindrance to avail Central funds.
The recruitments by the OPSC are too less to meet the requirement in the Government colleges with the result that thousands of teacher posts are lying vacant. Unfortunately, the OPSC has failed to recruit teachers on yearly basis and also complete the process in time. Consequently, many talented PG pass-outs from the State are migrating to other areas. The Service Selection Board (SSB) for manpower recruitment in aided colleges has been in limbo for long years.
The Block Grant system has been in vogue in the State despite large scale resentment against it. A major chunk of the college teachers in the State are beneficiaries of the system but the pay scale is too paltry and the mode of payment is too irregular. The teachers under the system have no service condition and career prospects. They are made to work like bonded labourers. What is galling is despite agitation by the Block Grant teachers for long years for implementation of Grant-In-Aid (GIA), the Government has done nothing except blowing hot and cold over it.