SAMBALPUR: With Odisha State Open University (OSOU) given temporary possession of 40-acre land at Badasinghari on the outskirts of the city, work on establishment of its permanent campus seems set to gain pace.
University Vice Chancellor Srikant Mohapatra said, the land was earlier transferred to the State Higher Education department but now has been given possession by the district administration. "We have requested the Public Works (R &B) department to construct a boundary wall around the entire area. Once the boundary wall is completed, the administrative block will be constructed with a fund of Rs 15 crore, sanctioned by the World Bank," he said.
The permanent OSOU campus will be adjacent to the land on which permanent campus of the Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur (IIM-S) and second campus of GMU will be developed.
University sources said that a draft design for the campus has also been forwarded to the Government for approval. The plan includes facilities like academic block, administrative building, multimedia centre, library, skill development centre, guest house and computer centre.
OSOU is currently functioning from Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) campus. However, the space provided at GMU is not sufficient to accommodate all students associated with the university. Moreover, with volume of students only going up, it has become essential for the university to have its own campus as per UGC guidelines.
The university presently has 10,000 students spread across 50 study centres. It offers 12 PG, 10 UG, 22 diploma and 12 certificate courses.