Bhubaneswar: Barely after a year of being accorded university status, the Khallikote University will now be merged with Berhampur University (BU). It had got unitary varsity status only in February 2020.
The Higher Education department in Odisha issued a notification in this regard on Tuesday and stated that the Khallikote University shall cease to exist post-September 30, 2021.
However, it will complete all UG and PG Exams prior to the merger. The varsity will clear the backlog tests and publish results before September 30. The students will be transferred to the Berhampur University rolls where their previously earned credits or marks/grades will remain valid.
Currently, the university has 90 students in seven departments. According to the notification, after September 30, research students shall get transferred to Berhampur University with pre-doctoral credits while their registration date and thesis supervisors will remain the same.
All the research projects of Khallikote University funded by either the Odisha government or Centre shall also be transferred to Berhampur University, the notification read.
The Khallikote University though cannot make any fresh admission of students as Berhampur University will not provide admission to any new students to the courses currently offered by the former.
Khallikote University Vice-Chancellor PK Mohanty said he has not received any communication from the department so far. The VC said one of the reasons behind the amalgamation might be the expenditure that the State government has to incur every month towards paying the rent for the university, reported The New Indian Express.
