Bhubaneswar, May 10: Disappointed by a long wait for an IAS study centre on campus, the students’ union of Utkal University has formulated a proposal to start the coaching classes with the varsity’s resources.
“Since there is no progress in setting up the coaching facility, we have decided to request the vice-chancellor to introduce short-term preparatory courses from the coming session with the assistance of our own teachers and infrastructure. We would present the proposal before him tomorrow,” said students’ union president Tanmaya Swain.
Last year, the university authorities had written to at least 11 nationally recognised IAS coaching institutes in Delhi, Bangalore and other cities to collaborate with them for the study centre. However, they have not yet received a single positive response.
Chairman of Utkal’s PG Council P.K. Sarkar said while some were not interested to venture out of their respective cities, others had not written back so far.
“We have not given up but, maybe, if the state government intervenes in this regard, the institutes might come forth for collaboration or set up independent centres here so that our students can get better coaching facilities,” Sarkar said.
Members of the students’ union said they would urge the vice-chancellor Prashant Kumar Sahoo to start the coaching session from July. As per the proposal, faculty members from each department would take one-hour classes in the mornings on a rotation basis. Apart from regular subjects, the teachers would also concentrate on computer education, general knowledge and development of soft skills.
“The faculty members would not just prepare students for IAS exams but also for other All-India competitive exams. Training would also be given to help them prepare for group discussions and personal interviews,” said union member Prabin.
However, with large-scale vacancy in teaching posts in the university, teachers might feel overburdened by the extra classes.
“Every department is understaffed and this additional responsibility would be a burden on us,” said a university lecturer.
Sarkar said he was not aware of the students working on such a proposal.
“If such a suggestion comes to us, we would definitely review it. However, the vice-chancellor has to take the final call,” he said.
