BHUBANESWAR: Uncertainty looms over the opening of the much-awaited Odia University in July this year. Even as admissions for the ensuing academic session will start in a few months, the Higher Education department is yet to list the new university in its SAMS e-admission portal for 2023-24. Besides, the Common PG Entrance Test (CPET) to admit students to the university in the new session has not been notified so far.
On May 31 this year, a meeting of the department’s officials with chief secretary Pradeep Jena was held on the early functionalisation of Odia University at Satyabadi in Puri. Subsequently, the department, earlier this month, had notified the university will be inaugurated in the first week of July and planned to complete the admission of students prior to that, sources said.
Accordingly, it had decided to organise CPET in three subjects - Odia Language and Literature, Linguistics and Natural Language Processing and Regional, Tribal and Heritage Studies. The three courses have been designed as Integrated MA PhD with exit option at the Master’s level in alignment with the National Education Policy 2020. The entrance test and admission process were to be completed by the last week of this month.
However, with only four days left for the month to end, CPET timeline for admission to Odia University has not been announced by the department yet. On the other hand, the State Selection Board is already conducting the CPET for admission to other public universities and degree colleges since June 23 and the examination will continue till July 4.
Academic session for first year PG students usually starts in September every year. The New Indian Express reached out to Higher Education Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak on the delay behind the entrance examination and operationalisation of the new university but the latter did not respond. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid the foundation stone for the Odia University at Satyabadi in October, 2018.