No dearth of funds in Odisha, upgrade Rama Devi Women’s varsity to unitary university: Union Education Minister

There is absolutely no dearth of funds in Odisha and the state government should work towards upgrading Rama Devi Women’s University into a unitary university, said Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.

While addressing the second convocation event at Rama Devi Women’s University on Friday, Pradhan said, “I learnt that Rama Devi is first women’s university of Odisha and is also an affiliating university.”

“I urge the Odisha government to upgrade it into a unitary and multi- disciplinary university. Around Rs 50 to 60 crore will be needed and there is no dearth of funds here in Odisha and Rama Devi Institution should be on focus. I will extend all possible assistance,” said Pradhan.

Rama Devi University, named after Rama Devi, has entered its 60th year (since college) and it was accorded the status of women’s university in 2015.

“I am not aware if there is any course in Rama Devi on women leadership. I will also try to know about it if it is there. There is a special place of women in the society of Odisha from Devi Subhadra till Droupadi Murmu,” said Pradhan.

"There are several women like Rama Devi or Malati Devi in Odisha, who dreamt big and stepped out to serve the society. The youngsters need to know about them and others. It is for the first time the enrollment in higher education institutions increased to 4.14 crore during 2020-21, crossing the 4 crore mark," said Pradhan.

The Union Education Minister further said female enrollment has also increased to 2.01 crore from 1.88 crore in 2019-20. There has been an increase of around 44 lakh (28%) in their number since 2014-15, he added.