Sambalpur: The Admission Process has stopped at Odisha State Open University (OSOU), Government is Silent

Sambalpur: Odisha State Open University (OSOU), established in Sambalpur in 2015, has stopped the undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Due to a lack of teaching and non-teaching staff and lack of its own building, the university has not been recognized so far. Due to a lack of NAAC approval, UGC has not given permission for graduate and postgraduate courses this year. The OSOU Survival Campaign has alleged that there is a conspiracy to close down the institution. It is worth noting that Odisha State University was started in the year 2015 at the Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) campus in Sambalpur by the Chief Minister’s announcement. Initially, there were six diploma courses. In 2017, undergraduate and postgraduate courses were approved for 5 years (2022).

So far, about 75,000 students have enrolled in OSOU. Out of them, 25 thousand students have already passed. While there were 31 study centers under the university in the first year, now its number has reached 89. However since permission was not given to graduate and post-graduate courses in the current academic year, there has been a strong reaction in Sambalpur. On behalf of OSOU Save Campaign, former Student Parliament President of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose College and lawyer Parvez Ali Khan, President of Civil Welfare Society Mahendra Mishra, President of Jagran Sudhirdar Bohidar, former President of Vimsar Dr. Sanjeev Mishra said in a press conference, Western Odisha is being neglected again and again. The university is going to be closed due to the apathy of the education department and the government. The government should take this issue seriously.

Create requirements, recruit, and take steps toward obtaining UGC accreditation. Complete the infrastructure and permanent building work of OSU early and hand it over to the university. In addition, the Union Education Minister intervened and demanded that the UGC be directed to grant NAAC status with a three-year grace period. In addition, he said that through RDSC, various social organizations and intellectuals of the city will conduct a campaign to collect the signatures of the Chief Minister and the Union Education Minister and give the OSOU rescue campaign demand letter. Attempts were made to contact the Chancellor in this regard but it was not possible.