BHUBANESWAR: THE State Government on Saturday accorded university status to Rajendra Autonomous College in Balangir.
The colleges in Balangir and Nuapada districts will be affiliated to the new university. Under the provisions of Odisha Universities Act, the Government decided to give university status to the premier college of Western Odisha that was established in 1944. This was a long pending demand of locals including Balangir MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo.
Creation of additional faculty positions for the university is a continuous process and will begin soon, said Bishnupada Sethy, Secretary of Higher Education Department.
From 1967 to 2002, the college was under Sambalpur University. Notably, Rajendra (Autonomous) College became a full-fledged degree college after the affiliation of Commerce faculty in 1964-65 and Science faculty in 1965-66. From 1978-79, it started offering post-graduate courses in Arts, Science and Commerce.
Currently, it is an autonomous institution and has been accredited by NAAC as B++.