Bhubaneswar, July 17: A world-class university, proposed by the Calcutta-based Birla Academy of Art and Culture, will come up in Gothpatna on the outskirts of the city.

The state cabinet today approved a proposal to the effect.

“The proposed university will be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 86 crore. As many as 995 students will be offered various technical and non-technical courses,” said higher education secretary Gagan Dhal.

“The varsity will come up under De Novo category,” the secretary said.

“The De Novo institutions were those with promise of excellence in emerging areas. Under the De Novo category, institutions were given deemed university status for five years subject to an annual performance review by an UGC-appointed committee,” he said.

The university has proposed to reserve 30 per cent of its seats for Odisha students besides offering scholarships for SC/ST students.

In the first phase, the university will have eight schools — school of communication, law, social science and humanities, school of management, development and sustainability, school of architecture and planning, tribal studies and doctoral studies.

Four new schools — school of design school of engineering and technology, international affairs and centre of Odisha art and culture — will be added in the second phase.

According to the proposal, the fee structure will range from Rs 70,000 to Rs 3,30,000 depending on courses. And the faculty-student ratio will be 1:10. This apart, there will be 79 teaching staff members, 55 non-teaching employees and 25 visiting faculty.

The Birla Academy of Art and Culture has set up the Birla Institute of Management Technology in the city.

The state government has asked promoters of the proposed varsity to set up a Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Bhubaneswar on the lines of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, to provide quality technical education in the state.

The varsity has also been suggested to try and include subjects such as vocational education, BEd and MEd, banking, insurance, nuclear and space science, marine science, agricultural science, food safety, genetics and so on while offering quality education at an affordable cost.