Dissidence Emerge In BJD Govt Over Removal Of MLAs From College Governing Bodies

Bhubaneswar: A day after Higher Education Minister Arun Sahoo’s announcement to abolish the practice of inducting local MLAs and politicians as the president of college governing bodies, voices of dissent over the proposal within the ruling party came to fore today.

State Labour minister Sushant Singh questioned Arun Sahoo's statements saying, “I am unclear about the minister's statement, but there should be a politician in the governing body of all degree colleges.”

“The politician may not necessarily be the President, but he/she should be in the managing committee at least as a member to supervise the developmental activities of the concerned college.”

“Currently as presidents of governing bodies of colleges, we find it hard to attend all the meetings due to time constraints. So an academician should ideally be the President to chair all the meetings but politicians should remain in the body,” added Singh.

Singh further said, “We will look into the new guidelines of the Higher Education department and device a plan to include local MLAs in the mix.”

Notably, Higher Education minister Arun Sahoo in a programme convened by Odisha Parents Association yesterday had announced that, no politician or local MLA for that matter would be allowed in the governing bodies of degree colleges. The decision is likely to be notified in the state Gazette, he had said.