Utkal University offers video lectures on Arts, Commerce  

The Utkal University has started producing supplementary study materials under its Virtual Tutorial project.

BHUBANESWAR: The Utkal University has started producing supplementary study materials under its Virtual Tutorial project. The university, which has been graded A+ by NAAC, has recently completed working on study materials containing lectures, demonstrations and problem solving workouts of BCom and BA subjects. Both the courses have been embedded in a 16 GB micro memory chip that has been submitted to the university syndicate.


Under the HRD Ministry's Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), Utkal University is developing memory cards and microchips containing the entire syllabus of Arts, Science and Commerce streams under the Choice Based Credit System curriculum structure as a part of the Virtual Tutorial project. Students can use them in hand-held mobile devices and computer systems.

The university would handover these storage devices to the Higher Education Department for distribution among under-graduate (UG) students in tribal areas where there is a severe shortage of teachers in colleges and books or other learning materials are not easily available.


Utkal University Vice-Chancellor Ashok Das said the memory chip contains 30 per cent of the entire BCom and BA courses. Recording of the remaining BCom subjects will be completed within a month while that of Arts would take two months more. Preparation of study materials for Science stream has not started yet. Around 5,000 storage devices in each of the three streams will be distributed for free and made available in 16 GB and 32 GB versions. 


The university has set up a studio within the campus where the course materials are being recorded by faculty members and embedded into memory cards. "The initiative is aimed at improving equity by providing adequate learning opportunities to students in tribal and backward areas," said Das, adding that the content will be in English and Odia.


In another development, sources said there are plans to lay foundation stone for the second campus of Utkal University at Chandikhol in Jajpur district on June 28. The district administration had identified 70 acres of land for the campus but it is yet to be alienated to the Higher Education Department.

Tenure of Vice-Chancellor extended
The tenure of Utkal University VC has been extended by another three months due to delay in selection of a successor. Chancellor of Universities Dr SC Jamir notified the extension on Friday. VC Ashok Das was supposed to retire on June 20. Sources said ideally, the search committee should be set up three to four months before the tenure of incumbent-end. However, the process was delayed this time and as a result, the selection could not be made before June 20. Similarly, the terms of VCs of Fakir Mohan, Rama Devi, Khallikote and Gangadhar Meher universities have also been extended by three months. The terms of VCs of these universities were to end in May.  

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