Bhubaneswar, Oct. 4: There has been a sudden rise in the number of self-financing Plus Two junior commerce colleges with more and more students opting for the subject.
At least eight Plus Two commerce colleges have come up in the state in the past two years. Five of these are in the capital alone.
“In Bhubaneswar, there is Draupadi College of Science and Commerce at Goutam Nagar, Gaurav College of Commerce and Management, Kalinga College of Commerce, Samantarapur, Pragati Prafulla Plus Two College of Science, Commerce and Arts at Chandrasekharpur and Times College of Science and Commerce, Malipada,” said a senior official at the higher education department.
“Choosing commerce has got its own reasons. One of the most important and visible reasons why students opt for commerce is the job opportunities and placements. Employers in the banking, insurance and other financial sectors are quite keen to hire these students. It is quite obvious that private players will grab the opportunity,” said S. Moharana from the department of commerce at Utkal University.
Some colleges are also going for tie-ups with foreign institutes and universities to facilitate students to pursue dual degrees.
The latest to join the bandwagon is the International College of Commerce and Economics (SICC) floated under the banner of SAI International group that claims to offer programmes from the UK.
“We bring quality commerce education at the under-graduation level with the opportunity to pursue dual degrees from international universities through the programs from EDEXCEL, UK,” said chairman SICC Bijoy K. Sahoo.
“Edexcel is the UK’s largest awarding body for academic and vocational qualifications. Also there is the Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) Higher National Diploma (HND), which will provide students with a work-related approach based on practical learning,” he said, adding that SICC would train its students through its unique finishing school programmes designed especially for students from eastern India.
“To overcome lack of entrepreneurship in India, it is imperative for us to promote advanced commercial education in our country. In the northern and western part of India, commerce education is preferred to science and humanities. The minimum percentage for a seat at Sri Ram College of Commerce in New Delhi goes as high as 98 per cent,” said former principal of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) J.L. Gupta who was in the city recently.
