Bhubaneswar: The Utkal University is in a spot of bother since the NIRF rankings were released and the CAG report was tabled. Odisha’s premier university got only 13.78 marks out of 100 in research and professional practice — the reason the varsity has been ranked 87th overall.
Four other state institutions, including two private varsities, have been placed in NIRF’s top-100 list. According to the CAG report, the university filed only one patent from 2014 to 2019.
It was filed in 2017-18, but wasn’t granted till the time of audit. As far as consultancies are concerned, Utkal University had got Rs 71.74 lakh as receipts for four consultancy projects during 2014-19, according to the CAG report.
The perturbed educationists from the state said that the university seriously needs motivation to strengthen its research ecosystem.
“All stakeholders should work together to strengthen the research ecosystem. We have started work in this direction. Hopefully, the goal will be achieved,” vice-chairman of Odisha State Higher Education Council and former vice-chancellor of the university, Asoka Kumar Das was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Former V-C of FM University, Siba Prasad Adhikary pointed towards the teaching staff strength. “Out of 257 sanctioned posts, 126 are lying vacant in Utkal University. If you do not have half of your faculty posts, how can you think about research?” the former V-C asked.
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