156-year-old school in Berhampur city renamed after former president V V Giri

Former President of India VV Giri

A 156-year-old high school, one of the oldest for girls in Odisha and Eastern India functioning in the ancestral house of former president late V V Giri has been renamed after him. It may be noted that former president of India V V Giri hailed from Berhampur and was also the first Labour Minister of the country in the cabinet of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

"It will be a great honour to the former president, who hailed from Berhampur," Odisha Governor M C Bhandare said after renaming the Government Secondary and Training School in Berhampur city on May 02.

This was the first educational institute in the town named after V V Giri, while Berhampur Municipal Corporation had earlier named a road and a market after him. "We are very happy as one of the oldest institutes was named after the former president," said Sharataran, niece of the former president. 

V Mohini Giri, former chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), noted social activist and the daughter-in-law of the former president, was also present.

The house had been handed over to the government at a nominal rate.

The present institute had started as an elementary school in 1856. It was elevated as Middle English school and later became a girls’ high school. A secondary training school was set up in 1928. It is noteworthy that the remaining portion of the the ancestral parental house of the former president late V V Giri still stands adjacent to this oldest girls' Secondary school in Berhampur, Odisha.

Source: Business Standard, Press Trust of India, ToI & The Hindu 

Berhampur Municipal Corporation libraries buried in heaps of neglect

By: Sisir Panigrahy

Books covered by layers of dust and in disarray, the rich variety at four libraries maintained by Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BMC) often go unnoticed by visitors. Several books are in dire need of restoration, new ones are unavailable and there isn’t enough staff. Since many of the books are early editions, conservation techniques need to be updated, said sources. The air conditioners, TVs and computers at these libraries are non-functional. The generators hardly have any fuel to run. Computerized bibliographies in these libraries are a dream for the readers.

One of the BMC libraries, located near the Berhampur Press Club, is frequented by readers. However, this one is dogged by problems of poor maintenance - just as most other public libraries are in the city. The library has two halls which are insufficient to accommodate the growing number of readers. On an average, over 200 people visit the library daily.

Although BMC supplies 12 newspapers and over 20 periodicals every month, no new titles have been purchased yet. The library manages with its 7,000 old books that have been there since its inception.

The BMC also owns a research library established in the name of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati. Books and encyclopedias worth Rs.2 lakh were brought to the library when it was opened in 1993.

Since then no new books have been added to the collection. Because of its poor upkeep, the research library’s popularity is on the wane.

Intelligentsia said although BMC collects tax from people, no concrete measures are being taken for maintenance and development of the libraries. They have demanded the State Government’s intervention to establish a well-furnished library in the city. Source: IBN Live

Classroom teaching goes hi-tech at Berhampur city Kendriya Vidyalaya

Blackboards in classrooms will soon be replaced with interactive boards at three Kendriya Vidyalays in Odisha under the e-classroom project launched by the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) in 50 KVs in India. The three KVs in Odisha are Berhampur, KV No.1 in Cuttack and KV Sambalpur. There are 55 KVs in Odisha.

At least ten classrooms of each of these schools (one section from Class III to XII) will be equipped with the necessary gadgets and hardware, which will be provided by the KVS. The students will sit in the e-classroom to interact with their counterparts and teachers of other KVs through the electronic-comprehensive teaching and learning tools (E-CTLT).

"It will enable students to interact with students of other Kendriya Vidyalayas. It will also make them tech-savvy. The classrooms will be highly equipped when all the necessary gadgets are installed to launch the e-classrooms," a senior teacher of KV Berhampur said. "We are ready to roll out the project very soon. Our teachers have already been trained at Mumbai and Mysore, while some other teachers are undergoing training," said K P Dash, principal-in-charge, KV Berhampur.

Source: The Hindu

Berhampur University plans to introduce four new courses

BERHAMPUR: Berhampur University has sought funds for the establishment of four new departments under the twelfth plan (2012-17) of the University Grants Commission (UGC). The proposed centres include Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies (CSSEIP), Centre for Coastal Research (CCR), Centre for Extension Services on Coastal Zone Management (CESCZM) and Awareness Programme on Women Empowerment (APWE). The five-year plan proposal of the university was submitted to the UGC last week as per its guidelines, university sources said. "Since the central government has laid thrust on mainstreaming of disadvantaged people in the society and inclusive growth through education, the university has proposed setting up of the CSSEIP to undertake studies about the area, particularly the southern Odisha districts," said vice chancellor J K Mohapatra.

The southern Odisha districts are mainly inhabited by people from economically weaker sections of the society. Literacy rate and growth rate of Gross District Domestic Products (GDDP) are also poor in this region. "The university has to play a role in mainstreaming the disadvantaged people. So we have sought to establish the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policies," said register B P Rath. Similarly, the university wants to establish the Centre for Coastal Research to undertake research and training in coastal and ocean science. The university has a department on marine science. The proposed Centre for Extension Services on Coastal Zone Management, university authorities feel, will create awareness on Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and help explore possibilities of development of economic condition of the fishermen across the state. Under the UGC's new research initiative, the university has proposed to set up the APWE to create awareness about programmes on women. The proposed centre would function under the Women's Study Research Centre (WSRC) of the university, sources said.

Source: Times of India

Berhampur University becomes first in Eastern India to introduce written test & interview for recruitment of lecturers

Those interested to work as a lecturer in Berhampur University would now have to undergo a written test besides facing a face-to-face interview. Berhampur became the first varsity in the state and perhaps very few universities in the country to conduct both written test and interview to select candidates for the posts of lecturers. The syndicate of the university, in a resolution, suggested the vice-chancellor to hold written examination in recruitment of the lecturers. The apex decision making body of the university however authorised the vice chancellor to take such decision of conducting of the written test for the aspirant posts of the lecturer before appearing for interview. The syndicate's decision in this regard was to ensure quality education in the university by recruiting good teachers. The decision, however, will be only applicable for the recruitment at the level of the lecturers, but not for the posts of the reader and professor. Vice Chancellor J K Mohapatra welcomed the decision of the syndicate. "It was an unanimous decision of the syndicate and I welcome it, which will ensure recruitment of good quality of the teachers in the university," he said.  The university will soon issue advertisements for filling 25 teaching posts in different faculties, including lecturers, readers and professors, university sources said.

Berhampur University convocation on 2^nd May

Berhampur University will hold its annual convocation on May 2. It will be attended by Dr Syeda S Hameed, Planning Commission member. This was decided by the university Syndicate on April 1. This time, the varsity proposed to confer LL.D on 10 eminent persons and D.Sc on cardiologist Kabiprasad Mishra. The proposed list of LL.D includes Mohini Giri, Arun Jaitly, Sudarsan Patnaik, Justice Dipak Misra, Dr Syeda S Hammed, Iqbal Chagla, Pinaki Misra, Chandrabhanu Satpathy, Soumayranjan Patnaik and Sidhanta Mohapatra.

Sources: Times of India, Indian Express & IBN Live

Building Berhampur as a Higher Education destination

R.P.Tripathy

Berhampur city has many advantages as a place to emerge as a future higher education destination of Eastern India. To name a few, apart from being the third largest city in Odisha, Berhampur happens to be the commercial nerve centre of South Odisha and KBK regions. Interestingly it caters to the needs of a couple of districts of Andhra Pradesh as well. Further, Berhampur is the biggest city with a port in the state of Odisha. The City has one of the oldest colleges of Eastern India with Khallikote College nearing 150 years of its establishment. Berhampur University and MKCG Medical College have helped Berhampur emerge as a higher education destination of the State. Recently many private engineering colleges have come up in the City along with the Parala Maharaja Engineering College. Yet, the City has failed to get any of the centrally funded Institutes so far, despite the fact that it has got excellent rail and road transport infrastructure in the state apart from moderate weather conditions. Certain demands and suggestions have been made recently from different quarters that are likely to make Berhampur one of the leading destinations for higher education. This will not only help in the growth of the City, but also the vast under developed region of Southern Orissa and KBK. Following are some of the suggestions to build Berhampur as a destination for higher education;

·Declaration of Berhampur-Bhubaneswar knowledge corridor to develop Berhampur as a national level higher education cluster
·Establishment of Indian Institute of Information Technology (I.I.I.T)
·Khallikote College must be upgraded as an Unitary University
·Establishment of one of the state funded professional Universities like Health University or Management University or a second Agricultural University of the State
·One national level research lab of CSIR, DRDO or DAE
·Establishment of the National Institute of Design (NID)
·Establishment of the earlier announced Indian Institute of Labour (IIL) Studies on the lines of VV Giri Labour Institute, NOIDA
·A branch of the National maritime University at Gopalpur.
·Establishment of the Marine Biotech Park at Gopalpur.
·Upgradation of MKCG Medical college into a national level medical college and research centre
·The JN Tata Technical Education Centre to be upgraded as a national level technical institute on the lines of BIT.
·The Ministry of Defense College at Gopalpur to be upgraded as a Defense University and the establishment of AFMC under the University
·Establishment of Sugar Research Institute at Aska and Salt Research Institute at Huma.
·Completion of the STPI and IT Park projects near the City.

Finally, the formation of the Greater Berhampur metropolitan area is of critical importance in bringing the above mentioned Institutes to the City. There is strong justification for the merger of nearby towns like Chatrapur, Gopalpur, Hinjilicut and many villages located close to the City under Berhampur Municipal Corporation. There is also a strong case for developing the Airstrip near Bhanja Vihar as a domestic airport under the PPP route or in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense. The sooner this is done, the better it will be for the future growth of Berhampur and will also give a fillip in making Berhampur a higher education destination in Eastern India by 2020.