By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Call it 2 old friends in Utkal University fighting each other over Odisha University (Amendment) Bill. One is Union PNG-Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and his Utkal University mate and State Higher Education Minister Dr Arun Sahoo.Even though both Pradhan and Dr Sahoo shared a very close bonding but in case of Odisha University (Amendment) Bill, the 2 old friends seems fighting each other.
Few days after Dr Sahoo ensured the Bill got nod of the State Assembly, Union Minister Pradhan, who had earlier written to Union Minister of Education Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, once again reminded and sought his intervention for an early cancellation of the Odisha University (Amendment) Bill recently passed in the State Assembly.
“Odisha Government’s hasty, unprecedented and anomalous promulgation of the Odisha University Amendment Bill, 2020 has met with near-universal criticism from the State’s academic community. The Bill is in complete contradiction to the PM’s visionary National Education Policy 2020. The Bill seeks to strip away the autonomy of higher educational institutions in the State by bureaucratization,” mentioned Pradhan.
Abolition of Senate with the State-controlled Syndicate, manipulating the appointment of Vice-Chancellors and appointment of teachers via OPSC are cause for grave concern.Many provisions in the Bill are against the University Grant Commission norms. As education is in the concurrent list, the State Government can’t take decision alone. Thus, I urge youth interneuron for cancellation of the Odisha University Ammendent Bill at the earliest.
State Education Minister Dr Sahoo said the autonomy of universities will not be tampered. In states like Gujarat, Bihar, Punjab, Andra Pradesh and West Bengal, the Government interferes in VC selection process. But in Odisha, the selection process is impartial and the Governor apponits the VC.
As per the amendment in Odisha Universities Act 1989, Syndicate instead of the Senate will function as the highest authority in universities. The Constitution of Syndicate has been restructured. There will be an adequate representation of Chancellor as well as the State Government, including the reconstruction of the committee for the selection of Vice-Chancellors of the universities by including a nominee of State Government (Academician) in place of the member selected by Syndicate.
Under the new amendment, the tenure of Vice-Chancellors will be extended from three years to four years with the upper age limit of 67 from earlier 65 years. There will be no re-appointment of vice-chancellor of the same university for the second time.The recruitment of the teachers in universities will be done by the Odisha Public Service Commission and non-teaching staff will be recruited through State Selection Board.The annual audit report of the universities will be available on the university website for the last three years.
Earlier, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Odisha University Teachers had met Union Minister Pradhan and requested intervention in withdrawal of the controversial Bill.
The Ordinance 2020 encourages further bureaucratisation of the university system and oversteps the university autonomy in the recruitment of faculty members. It recommends appointment of teachers through the OPSC. The claims of the government that there is precedence of appointment of university teachers through the PSCs in many states have been considered misleading and rejected by the members of the JAC.
Moreover, it is ridiculous to cite states like Bihar and Jharkhand as examples of governance when it comes to running universities. Similarly, the proposals for abolishing the Senate, interference in the appointment of the VCs and changes in the composition of the syndicate are considered as efforts to squeeze the autonomy of the universities in the state. Since the Ordinance floated by the Government of Odisha is in conflict with the UGC guidelines for University governance, the members of the JAC also apprehend that the enactment of the Ordinance may eventually result in withdrawal of UGC support to Odisha’s Universities and de-recognition of the degrees offered by the universities in the state.
Education comes under the Concurrent list of the Constitution of India. Any policy related to education must have a nod from both the state government and the central government. The hasty efforts of the state government to implement the new changes even before their enactment raise serious questions on the purpose of such changes.
After a thorough discussion, the Union Minister has assured that sincere efforts will be made by him to address the concerns of the teaching community. A tweet by him immediately after meeting the delegation of JAC also reiterated the concerns.JAC has called for a state wide silent protest by university teachers on 5th October against the Ordinance, Prof. Kunja Bihari Panda, Convener, JAC, had said.
