BHUBANESWAR: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved state government’s proposal to rename Kalahandi University at Bhawanipatna as Maa Manikeshwari University.
In a letter to the state Higher Education department (DHE) and the University, the UGC stated that the name of the Kalahandi University, which is already included in the list of state (public) universities established as per section 2(f) of UGC Act - 1956, as maintained by the Commission, has been changed to Maa Manikeshwari University, Bhawanipatna.
The state government had initially given unitary university status to the Government Autonomous College, Bhawanipatna, on March 6, 2019. In September 2019, it was made an affiliating university and in 2023, steps were initiated to name Kalahandi University after Maa Manikeshwari, the presiding deity of Kalahandi district. The proposal, however, was reportedly pending with the Commission since then.
Member of UGC Sachidananda Mohanty, who had visited the university last year, during his discussion with the vice-chancellor and other officials came to know about the problems faced by the institution including the pending approval for its renaming. Mohanty intervened and guided the varsity authorities to pursue the matter at appropriate level in the UGC for its approval.
“I had learnt from the university V-C that due to the delay in approval of the proposal, students were not being able to receive proper certificates for the last five years. Now that the university has been rechristened as Maa Manikeshwari University, I am hopeful the issue is resolved,” Mohanty, a national fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, (IIAS) Shimla and former vice-chancellor of Central University of Odisha, Koraput, said.
He reiterated that the Ministry of Education and the UGC, including its members, are always ready to support colleges
and universities in the state seeking guidance for the smooth resolution of their academic and infrastructure challenges for the growth of the higher education sector in the region.