Bhubaneswar: The Chancellor of Odisha universities and Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal directed all government-run universities not to allow any new self-finance course (SFC), Wednesday.
An official source said that the Chancellor also suggested a number of measures for streamlining self-finance courses in the government universities. Under PPP mode, a SFC is provided either through or in association with a private organisation and/or individual.
Professor Lal expressed his serious concern regarding the manner in which SFCs are presently being provided in government universities. Especially, such courses often have a propensity to over-shadow the regular courses of the universities concerned, the Chancellor said.
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The Principal Secretary to Governor Saswat Mishra in a letter to all Vice-Chancellors wrote, “He desires that government universities in Odisha should fully concentrate on providing quality-oriented Regular Courses to benefit the students who belong to economically weaker sections of the society. However, universities may provide to a limited extent a few self-finance courses, in case so needed.”
Any decision contrary to the directions, if taken by any University in the future, shall be treated as null and void, Mishra further stated. He asked the Vice-Chancellors to submit a compliance report vis-a-vis the directions by July 7, 2022 for kind perusal of the Chancellor.
In order to streamline the SFCs in government universities of Odisha, Professor Lal issued a few more directives such as:
- The student strength of all SFCs (Direct as well as PPP mode) put together should not exceed 20 per cent of the total student strength of all Regular courses. For example, if a University has student strength of 600 per year in all Regular Courses taken together, it can run SFCs for maximum intake student strength of 120 per year.
- If the current student strength of SFCs in any University is more than the ceiling mentioned above, the same must be brought down to the prescribed ceiling limit w.e.f 2022-23 Academic Year by reducing the number of SFC seats and/or by discontinuing some not so well-performing SFCs. Every SFC, which is currently running, shall be critically reviewed by the University Syndicate/ Board of Management and a suitable decision should be taken by the Syndicate/ Board of Management within June 30, 2022 regarding the continuance or discontinuance of these SFCs, as the case may be. The SFCs which will be discontinued snail not have any fresh student admission from the academic year 2022-23. These SFCs will continue only for one more year or two more years, as the case may be, till passing out of the last batch of already admitted students.
- Subject to the ceiling of student strength mentioned above, new SFCs can be started in the future by Universities as per need. However, all new SFCs must run in ‘Direct Mode’. New SFCs in ‘PPP Mode’ shall not be permitted at all. Direct mode means where an SFC is run by a University directly by itself without the involvement of any private organisation.
- Admission of students into SFCs must be made through an open and merit-based selection process.
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