Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 2: A sea of best wishes and congratulations poured into the Rama Devi Women’s College Friday, a day after it was declared to be the state’s first women’s university.
The students along with the faculty members and principal of the college stepped into the zone of celebration after their college got the tag of the first ever women’s university in the state. They consider the step of the government to give their college this status a remarkable achievement in the history of their institution. In 2014 the RD Women’s College here reached a milestone, as it completed 50 glorious years of imparting quality education to the girl students in the state. The president of India Pranab Mukherjee graced the golden jubilee celebrations of the college. No wonder that the college erupted in joy on January 2 2015 as they celebrated the January 1 decision of the government to make the college, a varsity.
The Principal of the college, Chitrangada Samantasinghar, who will soon be the first Vice Chancellor of the institution, however, was guarded in her reaction as she looked beyond the celebrations. She felt that the latest change in the status of the college was a challenge to all involved with the institution as lot more needed to be achieved to justify the varsity tag.
“It is indeed a noble step and we are proud of the fact that the institutions will be tagged as state’s first women’s university, but on the other hand we also need to prepare for the upcoming challenges. We have been asked to prepare a detailed project report and submit it to the government after which it will sanction us funds for the necessary infrastructural development of the institution,” said Samantasinghar.
The institution started its journey in 1964 as Government Women’s College in the building of the Labour department of the state government. “Beginning its life as a small institution, the college has grown into a premier women’s college with the potential of becoming a unitary university now. We are proud to become a part of the glorious institutions and look forward to give all possible benefits to our students,” said Bandita Mohanty, reader in physics.
The institution currently has a land of 25 acres accommodating 46 class rooms, eight lecture theatres, a home science laboratory, a staff and a students’ common room, an examination hall, a library that has about 50,000 books, an auditorium, a well-equipped conference hall, a N.C.C. room, a smart classroom, an athletic room, four science laboratories, a preparation rooms, a museum, a students’ recreation centre and a commerce block in the second floor of the main building.
“It is a proud moment for us to get this tag of Orissa’s first women’s university. The step will immensely benefit girl students. The institution will now have the capability to provide wider opportunities to the students not only in the field of education but also research activities,” said Surath Kumar Padhi, Reader in Physics.