Pushing Students' Future into Darkness Erring Private Colleges Flourishing in Odisha

Despite having lots of shortcomings self-financing colleges in Odisha continue to enjoy a free run in the State. The new academic session 2016-17 have started and , 90 percent of 317 self-financing colleges have no land of their own, adequate infrastructure, laboratories and adequate teachers.

But these colleges charges an exorbitant amount of fees than the Government-run Institutions. Students have to take admission into these colleges and institute while blaming their fate.

It was only July last year Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) had directed managements of these colleges to fulfill lacuna in the infrastructure requirements, appoint an adequate number of faculty members, purchase adequate land within a year or be ready to be whipped by the cancellation of affiliation. Only a few colleges fulfilled the requirement and most of them ignored the notice and still going on their work.

• The norms of Higher Education Department ordains that a self-financing college needs to move to its permanent campus within five years of its inception.
• Last year, the CHSE found 200 self-financing colleges that do not have land of their own.
• Out of this 200 colleges, only 50 colleges acquired their own land and rest of the still continues to function from the rented accommodation.

As per standard of CHSE, the laboratories of Science College should be equipped with all the facilities but most of these colleges are flouting the norms. Most of these labs lack even basic amenities and much smaller in size where several students have to perform the testing.

Faculty members in many of the Science colleges have been appointed despite not having the requisite qualification and all the institutions are managing with guest faculty members and they remove the faculties on a small pretext.

The Capital City Bhubaneswar has the highest number of 77 self-financing colleges. Out of these 77 colleges, 37 do not have land of their own. These colleges have been operating from rented building. 18 are functioning without renewing their affiliation and a majority have just one laboratory for all Science subjects.

While a top official of CHSE said, “ We have sent the revised report on existing infrastructure of self-financing colleges to the State Government for necessary action. The government is yet to response. We want to make students aware of standard of these colleges and the facilities they provide. Self-financing colleges charge a huge amount of money as admission fee compared to Government-run institutions, but the facilities and education that they provide are not up to mark. But from our end can advise them students can check the list of defaulting self-financing colleges on CHSE website before taking admission.”