Entrance examinations for commerce takes palce at Utkal Unviversity in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, July 19: The commerce department of Utkal University here has received a record number of application forms for admission in post-graduation this year. Around 924 candidates have applied against 48 seats available for the subject, beating last year’s record of 802 applications.

“We have been receiving extraordinarily large number of forms for M.Com over the last three or four years. The major reason is that ours is the only general department on the campus where more than 40 per cent students get direct placement through campus recruitment drives,” said Jayant Kumar Parida, faculty member, commerce department.

In March, around 15 second-year M.Com students got placement offers from various reputed organisations such as the Intelligence Bureau (government of India) and Indian Air Force, along with private companies such as Capital IQ, India Cements, ACC, Aditya Birla, Vedanta and Royal Bank of Scotland.

The minimum pay package for the students ranged between Rs 2.2 lakh and Rs 6 lakh per annum.

“Of the remaining students, many got bank jobs, while a few others appeared for various competitive exams. They all are doing well in their respective fields,” said P.K. Pradhan, another faculty member.

Parida said the syllabus of M.Com has been modified to suit the demands of time and emerging market situation. Faculty members for M.Com and MFC are the same and they rely on case-study approach of teaching.

“Our curriculum is at par with master in finance and control (MFC), master in business administration (MBA) and, to some extent with, chartered accountancy. Joint seminars with MFC students and interactive sessions with relevant people keep the students abreast of latest events in the economic and finance sector. Regular classroom presentations are a must,” he said.

Talking about other factors due to which the department is becoming more and more popular, one of the second-year M.Com students, Jyoti Prakash Nayak, said: “The market is now recovering from economic recession and the jobs are back. Major companies come for campus placements, which is a big relief for us. Our seniors, who did not get directly placed, secured jobs within three to four months of graduating from the university.”

His classmate, N. Sunita, feels the surge in the number of application forms is due to the reputation of the university.

“Every graduate wants to pursue their post-graduation at Utkal University. And what adds to the charm of the commerce department is the fact that it was set up by eminent professor Suryakant Das, the first Indian to get a doctorate in business administration from University of Washington,” she said.

The two-year M.Com course is divided into four semesters and 24 papers. The entrance test will be held on July 22 at 10am. Of the total 48 seats, 14 are reserved for physically handicapped, SC/ST candidates and under sports, ex-service and in-service quota. Classes will start from August 5.