Higher Education Minister Pradeep Panigrahy on Thursday said the State Government is making all efforts to separate all Plus II colleges from composite Degree colleges during the current year.
“Separation of Junior and Degree colleges needs more time in view of infrastructure and teacher requirement. The State Government is making all efforts to separate them during this year,” Panigrahy said while replying to questions by Ansuman Mohanty and others in the State Assembly.
He informed that a committee formed under chairmanship of the Development Commission held a meeting on January 29 to formulate modalities and work has already been started in this regard. The committee would hold a meeting again and an inter-departmental meeting between School and Mass Education and Higher Education Departments would also be held soon in this regard, he said.
The Minister said a provision of Rs 96 crore has been made for the 2015-16 fiscal towards infrastructural development of Plus II colleges. Provisions of Rs 53 crore and Rs 95 crore were made in this regard in 2013-14 and 2014-15, respectively. Once separated, Plus II colleges would be eligible to get Central aid under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and quality of education would be heightened, the Minister said.