Bhubaneswar, Feb. 23: Odisha may claim to have hit the IT highway, but the ground realities tell a completely different tale. Official data have revealed that all 30 sanctioned posts for teaching computer science in government degree colleges are lying vacant.

The state government has already included all 1,307 junior colleges and 162 degree colleges under the e-admission process. It is now planning to extend this online admission system to all the remaining degree colleges of the state from the next academic session.

However, some have pointed out that the state was not ready to hit the IT highway at least as far as college admissions are concerned.

Academics have argued that a large number of students, especially those in the rural and semi-urban areas, were not computer savvy. As a result, the students find the online admission system to be very tedious, complicated and no faster than manual admissions.

Besides, most teachers are also not in a position to explain the e-admission procedure to students.

The loopholes of the e-admissions system also caught the attention of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, who said the system lacked validation controls at many stages and the design did not cater to the provisions mentioned in the common prospectus.

“Computer science is a self-financing course both in government and private colleges here. Students pay Rs 15,000 annually for this job-oriented course. It is unfortunate that we do not have teachers to guide them. Hiring guest lecturers is not the solution. They will never be as committed as regular teachers,” said principal of city-based Institute of Higher Secondary Education, R.N. Panda.

While computer science and allied subjects are suffering the most because of lack of teachers, large-scale vacancies across all subjects in government colleges have plagued the state’s education system.

Higher education department’s data reveal 612 out of 1,818 sanctioned teaching posts in all subjects are lying vacant in the state’s government degree colleges. In government junior colleges, about 279 of 1,023 teaching posts are yet to be filled.

The three sanctioned posts for teaching life science in government Plus Three colleges have also not been filled up. In other subjects in the government colleges, 85 posts in English, 63 posts in physics, 62 posts in economics, 61 posts in chemistry, 54 posts in Odia, 44 posts in botany and 38 posts in history have been lying vacant.

The vacancy rate is also high in government-aided colleges in subjects such as English (207), Odia (203), history (124), chemistry (107), botany (69), physics (91), political science (177), mathematics (74), philosophy (58), commerce (42), education (47) and economics (141).

Higher education minister Badri Narayan Patra said 211 junior lecturers had been recruited in junior colleges under the Odisha Public Service Commission last year. “We have requested the commission to appoint another 279 junior lecturers,” said the minister.

The scenario in the private colleges is all the more grim where as many as 1,494 post have been lying unoccupied.