The Hindu : Other States / Orissa News : BU celebrates Foundation Day

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 03, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Other States

Other States - Orissa

BU celebrates Foundation Day

Staff Reporter

Social reformer and Vedic scholar Priyabrata Dash honoured on the occasion

Varsity seeks Centre’s help in establishing staff training college
Efforts on to set up Central University and IIIT: Union Minister

BERHAMPUR: The Berhampur University (BU) celebrated its 43rd Foundation Day on Friday.

The function organised in the university auditorium was attended by Union Minister Chandrasekhar Sahu, Berhampur MLA R.C.C. Patnaik, Gopalpur MLA Trinath Behera, Vice-Chancellor Bijay Kumar Sahu among others.

Noted Vedic scholar Priyabrata Dash, who is also striving to bring about social reforms, was honoured by the university on the occasion. Mr. Dash fought against the caste system and fundamentalist religious leaders to provide equal rights to women in performing Hindu rituals, including study of the Vedas.

Thrust area

University authorities handed over a memorandum to Mr. Chandrasekhar Sahu seeking Central help for establishment of a staff training college on the campus. The Union Minister, during his address, said he would take up the matter with the Union Human Resource Development Ministry. Mr. Chandrasekhar Sahu informed that the process for establishment of a Central University at Koraput in South Orissa and an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) in Berhampur was on. He advised the university authorities to lay more emphasis on research and development.

It may be noted that Berhampur University was established on January 2, 1967, through a special Orissa Act 21 of 1966. It was the outcome of a unified students’ agitation that was launched in the city in 1964. The number of affiliated colleges of the university had risen to 122. It was the only university in South Orissa imparting higher education in the faculties of Arts, Science, Commerce, Education, Medicine, Law, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Biotechnology, Bio-informatics, Computer Science etc.

E-governance

Prof. Bijay Kumar said conventional courses in humanities and pure sciences had lost value, which was evident from low admission rate in these courses. “The demand is on the rise for market-driven courses like management, IT and rapidly developing inter-disciplinary sectors like bio-informatics,” he said.

He said that the efforts of the university was to shape the institution’s vision for the next two decades where a balance could be maintained between liberal education, market driven pedagogy and socio-economic development of the youth force in under-developed South Orissa. He pointed out that recently the university had introduced e-governance to streamline the administration and to make it people friendly.

The toppers of the past academic year were also awarded during the celebrations.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States