Union Minister Pradhan urges CM Majhi to rectify changes

BHUBANESWAR: AMIDST the growing vacancies of faculty members in the state’s public universities owing to the Supreme Court stay on Odisha Universities (Amendment) Act, 2020, Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has written to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi seeking immediate review and necessary rectifications in the Act.

In a letter to Majhi on Tuesday, Pradhan said the former state government had brought about many changes in the Odisha Universities Act, 1989, for its own political gains. The changes are in conflict with the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956 in selection of vice-chancellors, appointment of faculty members and also curb the autonomy of universities.

This apart, under the amended law, the syndicate which is the highest decision-making body of any university, would include more number of officials chosen by the state government as members. “This will help the government in controlling the universities and encroach upon their autonomy,” the Union Minister wrote in his letter to the chief minister.

Stating the erosion of autonomy will affect the quality of education provided by the institutions, he said, “It is necessary to maintain the academic integrity of the universities by following the rules laid down in the UGC Act.”Seeking Majhi’s intervention in reviewing the changes made to the original Odisha Universities Act, Pradhan said the rectifications in the amended law are necessary to restore confidence among faculty members, safeguarding autonomy of universities and maintaining their academic integrity.

The public universities in the State are being governed by the 1989 Act which was amended in 2020. Through the amended Act, the state government took away the power of recruitment of faculty members of universities from the senates and gave it to the OPSC. While UGC Act states that appointment of VCs should be done through a search-cum-selection committee that comprises educationists, the Odisha Act mandates a nominee of state government in the committee, preferably a chief secretary ranked officer.

With UGC objecting to the amendments and state going ahead with recruitments, the Supreme Court put a stay on the Act in May 2022. This impacted recruitments and the faculty crisis worsened.