BHUBANESWAR: The Rama Devi Women's College (Autonomous), here will be upgraded to a university from 2015-16 academic session. The Project Approval Board (PAB) of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) gave its approval to the Higher Education Department's proposal under the Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) in this regard.
After upgradation, all women's colleges under the jurisdiction of Utkal University will come under RD Women's University.
In another major decision, the Ministry has conferred cluster university status on Berhampur's Khallikote Autonomous College. A cluster university concept envisages a lead college with a maximum of four colleges tagged to it. As per the decision taken by the Department, the four colleges to be tagged to Khallikote College are Binayak Acharya College, Gopalpur College, SBR Government Women's College and Chhatrapur Science College. The upgradation will ease the burden of Berhampur University, under whose jurisdiction the four colleges fall.
Secretary in the Higher Education Department, Gagan Dhal told this paper that both RD Women's College and Khallikote Autonomous College will get Rs 55 crore each to be upgraded to universities in three years and Rs 18.3 crore each has been sanctioned for the first phase work.
These apart, PAB has approved several other proposals to be implemented under RUSA in Odisha. Under the programme, the KKS Women's College in Balasore, SCS Autonomous College in Puri and Government College at Sundargarh will be upgraded as model colleges. The three colleges would receive a total of Rs 12 crore of which Rs six crore has already been sanctioned. Besides, 31 degree colleges will be provided funds of Rs two crore each for infrastructure development and Rs one crore each has been sanctioned.
Similarly, the Ministry has decided to provide infrastructure grants of Rs 100 crore to Utkal University, Sambalpur University, Berhampur University, Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) and Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT). Each of the universities will get Rs 20 crore and currently, Rs 10 crore has been sanctioned for first phase work.
The largest scheme of its kind, RUSA will be funded by Centre and State Governments in the ratio of 65:35 as per the demands of institutes concerned based on their proposal in a four-year process. The State will get a fund of Rs 154.8 crore for 2015-16. The MHRD has already sanctioned Rs 31.2 crore for setting up eight model degree colleges in Odisha under the programme. Dhal had presented the proposals before the PAB on December 20.