Cuttack: The demand to convert self-financed courses into regular courses was raised at a convention at Ravenshaw University here on Saturday.

The self-financed courses was opposed primarily on the ground that it was as good as privatisation of education in the state-run university. Besides, students with better merit from poor background will be derived of getting a seat.

The Ravenshaw Bikash Abhijan consisting of city-based socio-political activists and old student leaders along with Ravenshaw Chatra Kriya Anustahan Committee, organised the convention at Sarala Bhavan here to discourage promotion of self-financed courses at the varsity.

Finance minister Shashibhusan Behera, who took part in the convention as a former student, said that the state government was not against the idea to convert self-financed courses into regular courses as they were sustainable and helpful for students in terms of livelihood.

He said the finance department on Friday sanctioned approval to convert around 10 self-financed courses into regular courses at North Odisha University.

Ravenshaw University had started running self-financed courses on public-private-participation mode by signing agreements with service providers. However, the university discontinued the practice in 2014 adhering to University Grants Commission norms.

The self-financed courses at the university ran into controversy after the authorities hiked course fees from 2018-19.

Lawyer and Peoples Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) activist Guru Prasad Mohanty strongly opposed self-financed courses as it was tantamount to privatisation of education.

Justice Choudhury P.K. Mishra, a retired high court judge, supported the demand and sought government intervention against it.

Birendra Naik, a retired professor of Economics of Utkal University, said traditional courses were getting affected with introduction self financed courses.

The convention started with presentation of a base paper on the university by joint convenor of the Ravenshaw Chatra Kriya Anustahan Committee Saroj Mansingh. The base paper pointed out that the number of students in self financed courses had gone up to 3,536 as against 5,152 students in regular courses. The demand for a white paper on the finances of Ravenshaw University with details of income from self financed courses, grants received from state government and other sources and expenditure was also raised at the convention.