India’s poorest district, Odisha’s Nabarangpur will get its first government degree college called, the Government Model Degree College. The facility is being built with Rs 8.87 crore to offer commerce, arts and science streams to students of Nabarangpur and others around the district.
Odisha Higher Education Secretary G V VSarma said, “We will take in 64 students in each of the streams in the first year and the same number in subsequent years.”
The Centre and the state government are funding the project in the ratio of 65:35,said Odisha Higher Education Secretary G V VSarma. The facility would be spread over 10 acres. After the ground and first floors of the building are done, the college is expected to begin within few months, according to the district administration.
District Collector Rashmita Pandasaid, “We plan to start the session in July but the building might take some more time. Until then, the college will run out of a temporary campus at the nearby Skill Development Centre building.”
Nabarangpur College principalSubhash Chandra Tripathi said, “Ours is a composite college (both junior college and degree) and we have 3,900 students on our rolls. We have around 40 teachers but that’s not enough. On an average, we need about four more lecturers in each department. Without teachers, how do we keep students engaged.”
-Sumana
