The Central University of Orissa is setting up a medical college and a hospital that will bring health care at the doorsteps of the people in the region.
The university is situated in Koraput, an extremely backward district, which is inaccessible and Naxal affected.
“A hospital in the region would bring relief to the people,'' the Vice-Chancellor of the University Surabhi Banerjee told TheHindu .
A detailed interim project report has been submitted to the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
The Koraput District Hospital is well equipped, but lacks trained people to run it.
Keeping this in mind, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) for establishing a School of Health Sciences, for collaboration in teaching and research in Masters in Public Health Management. The school will also run courses in Nursing Sciences and Allied Health Sciences.
A similar MoU will be signed with Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore, for training in medical and allied health sciences. “Availability of trained manpower in the healthcare sector will be a boon for the people in the region,” Professor Banerjee said. The Delhi-based Jamia Hamdard University has also extended help in the field of allied sciences.
As the university enters its second year at the end of this month, it intends to tie up with the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation for setting up a School of Bio-Diversity and Conservation of Natural Resources, and with the Chennai Institute of Mathematical Studies, that will offer a 5 year Integrated M.Sc in Mathematics
Grooming students
“But only obtaining a degree is not enough in today's competitive world. Personality development is equally important. I have involved the British Council for improving the communication skills of students. The Council has already commenced classes where 75 students have enrolled,” he explained.
In addition to imparting training in Information Technology, efforts are being made to groom and counsel the students before they are ready to “take off.”
At present, 150 students from across the country have been enrolled in the University in the School of Languages and the School of Social Sciences. The former offers Post Graduation courses in English and Oriya, while the latter provides Post Graduation courses in Anthropology, Sociology and Mass Communication and Journalism. The Academic Council has also approved Ph.D Programmes.
Professor Banerjee is also working on a proposal to start an Institute of Marine Biotechnology.
