BHUBANESWAR: The demand for granting Central University status to Ravenshaw University is gathering steam with members of the Ravenshaw University Development Trust deciding to formally raise the demand with the Ministry of Education soon.
At an emergency meeting on Friday, members of the trust said another Central University in Odisha is the need of the hour because the existing one - Central University of Koraput - is unable to cater to all the interested students from coastal areas due to its location and other issues.
Since Ravenshaw is a unitary university and has no affiliating colleges, it qualifies for a Central tag in comparison to all the other government-run varsities in the State.
“With Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan taking over the Education Ministry, the trust has decided to work out a proposal in this regard and officially approach him to look into the issue. Ravenshaw is the oldest university in the State and has an excellent academic record. Converting it into Central university will make Ravenshaw a world-class institution”, said former Director General of Police Amiya Bhushan Tripathy, who is a member of the trust.
Speaking on the occasion, former Odisha Advocate General Surya Prasad Mishra said there is no impediment in according the status to a Central university.
He said the trust along with the university administration will work out on filling up all the vacant faculty positions in the varsity and plug the existing academic loopholes before preparing a proposal to be submitted to the State Government and Education Ministry. Recruitment of faculty members has already started.
Tripathy said the trust will also look into preservation of old and valuable books and documents in the Kanika library and raise funds for the purpose.