Khallikote college faces acute staff shortage problem

Large-scale vacancies of both teaching and non-teaching posts are a major obstacle in the development of more than 125-year-old Khallikote Autonomous College in the city. At present more than 50 per cent of the sanctioned posts of teachers are vacant in the major educational institution of the State which is also considered a heritage institution. There is also a proposal to convert it into a unitary university. At present it has classes from +2 level to post-graduate and M. Phil level. College principal Surendranath Behera says the large-scale vacancies are putting extreme pressure on the existing staff. Around 40 per cent of the posts of non-teaching staff are also vacant. The institution has several students who take up Telugu as their compulsory language paper in undergraduate classes but it is not having any Telugu teacher. Member of the governing body of the institution have blamed the apathy of the State government for this dismal state of affairs. According to them, if the real student strength of the institute is to be taken into consideration, then it should have teaching staff strength of around 200. They have alleged that during nineties, the teaching staff strength of the institute was deliberately reduced while there was no reduction in teaching staff strength of government colleges in Bhubanswar and Cuttack.  Apart from lack of teaching staff, paucity of infrastructure is also a major stumbling block. “From February, examinations of various self- financing courses and +2 courses start in the college which affects the studies of other classes drastically due to lack of staff strength and dearth of ample number of rooms,” says Mr. Ali Patnaik, a member of the governing body. He recently advised construction of a multi-storied building at the spot of a dilapidated old building adjacent to the stadium of the institute to house all self-financing courses. It is felt that two acres of land of the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation that has been handed over to the college recently will help in enhancing its infrastructure leading to its upgradation into a full fledged Unitary University, the matter which is now under the active consideration of the state government.

Source: The Hindu