Berhampur: Khallikote College (Autonomous), which had once carved out a niche for itself as a premier institute of higher studies in south Odisha, is fast losing its importance due to lack of teachers.
No teachers have been appointed this year dealing a heavy blow to teaching in the college. Around 5,000 students study in this college and 1,800 students were admitted in this academic year. This has put a question mark on the future of its students.
The college was recently upgraded into a cluster university, but for three years the authorities are caught in a row over its actual status.
After several years the Khallikote Cluster University’s campus was finally shifted out of Khallikote College premises. But the long dispute over the issue pushed it back by several years.
Sources said the government declared Khallikote College (Autonomous) as a cluster university in 2015.
The university was functioning from Khallikote College’s premises. However, a row started after the Khallikote Cluster University was declared separate. This triggered a dispute and the sudden announcement of turning it into a university stopped the creation of 40 lecturer posts in the college in 2016.
Now things have come to such a pass that the college authorities have failed to register the college with the University Grants Commission (UGC).
The college has 18 departments. Post graduate courses are available in 16 departments. But many departments do not have adequate lecturers.
There are 90 posts of lecturers in the 18 departments. Of this, 55 posts are vacant. All the posts of lecturers in the departments of Computer Science, Economics, Hindi and Statistics are vacant. Around half the sanctioned posts of lecturers are vacant in many of the departments, and all 11 professor posts created in 2013 have not been filled.
The college authorities had written a letter to the government to fill up vacant lecturer posts in 2016. But the government has not addressed the issue. This year all the vacant posts of lecturers were filled in all colleges except Khallikote College.
People here want the government to fill up the vacant posts of lecturers and non-teaching staff in the college immediately.
PNN
