Odisha Govt Dissolves Governing Bodies Of Non-Govt Degree Colleges

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday dissolved the governing bodies of all non-government degree colleges.

According to a notification by the Higher Education Department, the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) will be the governing body president of non-government degree colleges at the district headquarters till further orders. If there is more than one ADM at the district headquarters, the District Collector will appoint one of them as president of the governing body.

On the other hand, the sub-collector will be the president of the non-government colleges that are outside the district headquarters.

The department has directed the concerned authorities to carry out its directive with immediate effect.

Expressing displeasure over the decision of the government, Rural Development Minister Susanta Singh said: “There is no objection if the state government has decided to keep out the elected MLAs as the president of the governing body as they do not have much time. But they should be a member of the governing body for the infrastructure development of the college. I will talk to the Higher Education minister on this matter.”

Commenting on the matter, Science & Technology Minister Ashok Chandra Panda said it hardly matters if the MLAs are not appointed as the governing body president. If they have the goal and initiative, the education and infrastructure of the colleges will develop.