The Freethought Party of India (FPI) while whole-heartedly welcomed the passage of the Odisha Universities (Amendment) Bill of 2020, urged Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal to give his assent to the same at the earliest.

The Bill was passed by voice vote on October 6 in floor of State Assembly. "It is a fact that Higher Education is going better in private universities.

They are doing well because there really exists a ‘unity of command’ in the entire administration of the  university and the students do exhibit  greater sense of commitment to study their “respective courses” and the authorities do carry on their activities without any “indiscipline," said FPI.

The State universities will be now well-run, with the same uinity of command, presently  available under the new legislation. The VC of the university will work with his head high.

 The teachers of university will be hereafter selected by fair means according to the procedure determined by the Odisha  Public Service Commission (OPSC).

It is quite good that the Minister for Higher Education Dr Arun Sahoo has made the commitment on the floor of the House that all vacancies of teaching posts in all universities will be filled up very soon, said FPI.“There was ‘autonomy’ and the same has been wiped away under the new law”. This criticism has no force at all. Because in the past universities have totally abused ‘autonomy’, it said.

One can very well know this simply by looking at the very campus of the Utkal University, where the VC has allowed mushrooming of Hindu temples in the UU campus.

In the name of ‘Bhaichara’, the UU VC spends over Rs 60,000 every year for the Rath Yatra and he conducts himself as the “Gajapati” of the Utkal University and does “Chherapahanra”  in the campus Rath Yatra.

 Nothing could be more shameful than this irresponsible act, lamented FPI general secretary B Ramchandra CST Voltaire.