In its attempt to make up for the mistakes committed earlier, the State Government has renewed its efforts to get sanctions from the Centre for at least eight Model Degree Colleges in educationally-backward districts of the State.
The State had lost this opportunity during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period due to its failure in sending proposals to the Central Government in time.
The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had planned to establish one Model Degree College in each of the 374 identified educationally-backward districts during the 11th Plan period.
The MHRD entrusted the University Grants Commission (UGC) to implement the programme of setting up such model colleges with a grant ranging between Rs 4 and Rs 8 crore each.
There are no Government degree colleges in the State’s eight districts of Boudh, Deogarh, Malkangiri, Nabrangpur, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Rayagada and Subarnapur. So, the UGC had favoured one model college in each of these districts and suggested the State Government to send proposals for at least eight model colleges in the low Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) districts by March 31, 2012.
However, the opportunity was missed as officials of the Department of Higher Education (DoHE) failed to send the proposals in the stipulated time.
Meantime, the MHRD has decided to continue this programme in the 12th Plan period with HRD Minister of State Sashi Tharoor’s recent announcement to this effect.
According to reports, DoHE Principal Secretary Gagan Kumar Dhal has initiated a move to impress upon the UGC authorities to allow the State Government to set up at least eight model colleges in the educationally-backward districts. Dhal has, in the meantime, approached the top officials of the UGC and an official communication is being sent to the UGC in this regard, said DoHE sources.
The 18 districts in the State having low GER are Malkangiri, Boudh, Kandhamal, Nuapada, Nabrangpur, Gajapati, Koraput, Subarnapur, Bargarh, Deogarh, Kalahandi, Balangir, Angul, Rayagada, Keonjhar, Ganjam, Nayagarh and Dhenkanal.
leading non-resident Odia educationist Prof Chitta Baral has also exhorted the officials of the DoHE and appealed to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take expeditious steps in right direction so that the chance is not missed this time and to impress upon the Centre demanding such model colleges in all the 18 educationally-backward districts.