The GM Autonomous College here has been crippled by several problems, one most crucial being staff crunch.
“Only 40 teaching staff out of the 119 are working in the college in graduation, post graduation and M Phil classes, while there are also a few contractual staff managing the show. The result being the college faces a major hurdle in getting the unitary status and a good rank from National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC),” said Principal Dr Pradeep Kumar Panda.
The first condition of the University Grant Commission (UGC) to accord unitary university status is staff position. But it is a major drawback here as the college runs with only 33 per cent of staff of its strength, Dr Panda said.
“We are also unable to invite the NAAC for fresh assessment as staff shortage will be a problem again. We have everything here except staff. Hence, it is difficult for us to comply with the UGC condition,” he revealed.
Talking about other problems of the college, Dr Panda said that the college has 54 acres of valuable land in total. But a major chunk of 16 acres is now under illegal possession of the locals. The administration has never shown the required urgency to evict the enchroachers and get the land back to the college, he said.
He also lamented on the state of affairs of the Professor Colony situated in the heart of the city in Budharaja area. “The colony is meant for accommodating the teachers of the college but it has been virtually converted into a fish market with shifting of a road side market. In spite of shortage of staff quarters, the teaching and non teaching staff members are reluctant to stay in the colony because of the unfriendly environment and stench, he said.
Shifting of the market to any vacant pace in the town and converting the entire area to a campus for the Plus II wing of the college can solve the problem and restore the glory of the historic colony, he suggested.
Dr Panda further mentioned the need for an administrative block, academic block and auditorium with capacity of 1,500/2,000 persons. The college has enough of space and a plan has been prepared by the PWD. Simply, an estimate has to be prepared and placed before the Government for approval, he said.
“This college is also the nodal centre for subjects where there are no post graduation subjects in Sambalpur University. Besides, it has got a number of self financing courses in many subjects like MBA, BBA, CSc and MFC that pull hundreds of students every year. Hence, this institution needs a special attention from the Government to make it live up to the aspirations of the students and the people as a whole,” he maintained.