None of the 11 universities operating under the Higher Education Department has National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) status now. However, they are getting Central assistance under the University Grant Commission (UGC) and Rasthriya Uchhatara Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) schemes.
Higher Education Minister Pradeep Kumar Panigrhay informed this in the State Assembly in response to a question of BJP MlA Dilip Ray on Thursday. The Minister said even if the universities have no NAAC status, yet they have been getting Central assistances. The universities have applied to get the NAAC tag for the second time after the same has been snatched since 2012.
The universities are the Utkal University, the Berhampur University, the Sambalpur University, the Fakir Mohan University, the North Odisha University, the Shree Jagannath Sanskrit Visvabidyalaya, the Ravenshaw University, the Rama Devi University, the Khallikote University, the Gangadhar Meher University and the Odisha State Open University, Sambalpur.
Though Ray wanted to know about the vacancies of teaching and nonteaching posts in all universities, the Minister furnished such information only on five universities, Utkal, Ravenshaw, Sambalpur, North Odisha and Berhampur.
A total of 292 teaching posts and 929 nonteaching posts are lying vacant in these universities. The highest 162 teaching posts are in the Ravenshaw University followed by Utkal University 92, Sambalpur University 47, Berhampur University six and North Odisha University five. Similarly, the highest 504 nonteaching posts are lying vacant in Utkal University followed by Sambalpur University 286, Berhampur University 132 and North Odisha University seven. The Ravenshaw University has no vacancy in non-teaching sector, informed the Minister.
To a similar question of Congress MlA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, the Minister said steps are being taken to create new teaching and non-teaching posts in the three universities created recently. All employees who had been working in these institutions prior to university up-gradation are now working on deployment basis, the Minister said.