Gracing the closing ceremony as chief guest, eminent writer and academician Prof. Shantanu Acharya said, “Odia culture was not limited from Ganga to Godavari, our ancestors left the footprints of our culture across the globe. Three Odia civilizations in far-away land America is a testimony to this fact.”

Revisiting the treasure trove of Odia culture, he added that, “Spreading our culture overseas is a responsibility of each Odia. Intellectual awareness of our culture and literature is the need of the hour.”

Some wrong histories on Odisha are being peddled to the students and communist writers are deliberately distorting our culture, Prof Acharya further said.

Founder secretary of CYSD and social reformer Jagadananda opined that promotion of culture should be carried out from the grassroots level through village assemblies. He also exhorted the youths to shoulder the responsibility of preserving their cultural identity.

Discussing the folk beliefs and folk cultures, he stressed on proper documentation of the oral histories of the tribal communities in order to preserve them in written form.

In a technical session titled ‘Resurgence of Odia language, literature and culture, noted writer and Special Secretary of Public Enterprises Department Nihar Ranjan Dash said, “The essence of culture lives in our spiritual traditions and is widely reflected in our customs, festivals and manners.” He emphasised that one has to inculcate speaking and reading Odia language in our daily lives to give the identity it deserves.

Author Dr. Subhashree Lenka explained the essence of cultural sensitisation. A good samaritan should contribute towards preservation of one’s culture and literature, she said. Journalist and poet Kedar Mishra said the art of communication plays a significant role in evolving culture and literature.

The festival was organised by Institute of Media Studies (IMS) in association with Utkal University and OLL&C Department to promote the State’s culture and national integration. The Utsav Odisha will be an annual affair in the academic calendar to discuss and debate on critical issues relating to the cultural heritage of the State with a focus on need for cultural communication, said Prof. Upendra Padhi, Director of IMS.

Gracing the festival as chief guest, eminent author Haraprasad Das said, “Even as Odia language holds 18th position as an international language, it is yet to make its mark as a global language. He added that we need to be aware of the state of our language and policy must be formulated accordingly.”

Chairing the inaugural ceremony, Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sabita Acharya said Odisha has been a repository of one of the world’s finest cultural heritages. The State has a rich artistic heritage and has produced some of the finest examples of Indian art and architecture. Besides, tribal culture forms an important part of the colourful spectrum of Odisha, she added.

Noted writer Nihar Ranjan Dash pointed out that one should be committed and devoted to one’s mother, soil, motherland and mother tongue.

Prof. Nishamani Kar stressed that Bharat, the mother the civilizations, is different from the rest of the world. He said spirituality of life in India is defined by Vedas, puranas and Upanishads. Prof. Kar said Odisha and the Odia Culture has a legacy to be proud of which has a vision to look forward to and a rich heritage to proclaim.

Madhusudan Padhi, former Additional chief secretary, Government of Odisha, said, “Language is a vehicle of culture and one must promote our language through programs like Utsav Odisha.”

In a plenary session titled ‘NEP: A tool to ensure national integration’, Prof Ashok Das, Vice Higher Education Council, Prof Navaneet Rath, Chairperson, PG Council, Utkal University, Prof Niranjan Padhi and Madhusudan Das, Special Secretary, OLL&C, Government of Odisha discussed the role of NEP as a tool to ensure national integration.

All students in under-graduate (UG) and post-graduate (PG) courses across the state are eligible to register for the Nabin Odisha Magic Card by visiting the official link www. magiccard.odisha.gov.in.

Speaking on the occasion, Naveen said the youths are the wealth of the nation. The State Govt’s objective is to help the youth to realise their true potential to contribute towards the society and the nation. To achieve this, the government has rolled out Nua O program and Nua O Scholarship.

“The Nabin Odisha Magic Card is a revolutionary step towards youth empowerment. This will go a long way to help the students in personality development, reduce financial burden on parents and create opportunities for career progression and employment.” he said.

Chairman 5T and Nabin Odisha Kartik Pandian, who visited Malkangiri district on the day, elaborated on the Nabin Odisha Magic Card during an interaction with the students.

Explaining the features of the Card, he said it is a points-system based smart card which will engage and empower the youth and enable them towards academic development, personality development, skill development and employment. All the UG and PG students from various government, aided, and private institutions that admit students through the SAMS portal are eligible for the Card.

Attending the Nua-O Scholarship distribution programme at Sports Complex, Pandian informed that 5,069 eligible students from 10 colleges of Malkangiri will get their scholarship. Total Rs 5.19 crore has been sanctioned for 5,069 students. He distributed Nua-O Scholarship Sanction Orders to the students.

Later in the day, he attended the Nua-O Scholarship distribution programme in Utkal University, Rama Devi Women’s University and BJB Autonomous College in Bhubaneswar where he informed that 8,480 eligible students from these three institutions will get their scholarship. Rs 8.53 crore has been sanctioned for 8,480 students.

This was stated by 5T and Nabin Odisha chairman VK Pandian during his visit to Kalahandi, Balangir and Bargarh districts on Sunday.

“The futuristic Nabin Odisha Magic Card, a point-based smart card, will engage and empower the youth and enable them towards academic development, personality development, skill development. It will also help reduce the financial burden on parents, create opportunities for career progression and employment,” he said.

Online registration portal for this card will be launched on March 5. All the students, without any income criteria, of the under-graduate and post-graduate courses will be eligible. The distribution of the cards will start on August 15.

Pandian attended the Nua-O Scholarship Distribution Programme at Dharmagarh in Kalahandi, Titlagarh in Balangir and Bargarh where he interacted with the students.

He informed that 37,160 eligible students from 80 colleges of the three districts will get their scholarship. Total Rs 36.81 crore has been sanctioned for 37,160 students from the districts. He distributed Nua-O Scholarship sanction orders among the students.

5T chairman conveyed the message of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik that the youths should dream big and work hard towards achieving their potential. The government will ensure that they are provided with the support to achieve their goals.

According to the CMO release, the remuneration of art instructors and PETs engaged in upper primary schools has ben increased to Rs 10,000 from Rs 7,000. They will paid all year around instead of only 10 months as was the case earlier. Female art instructors and PETs can now also avail maternity leave and other benefits. They, however, will have to take 30 classes a month instead of 24, the release added.

Similarly, the monthly remunerations of PHIEV and multilingual (ML) education teachers have been increased to Rs 10,000 from Rs 5,379. The PHIEV are engaged at different gram panchayats since 2014 to impart special education and service to physically disabled children studying at various schools in the state.

The services of the multilingual education teachers, working in schools for tribal and SC students under ST & SC Development, Minorities & Backward Classes Welfare Department, will also be regularised on basis of their eligibility, it said. These decisions will benefit 4,605 art and sports teachers of the state and 1,117 PHIEVs, it added.

On Friday, the CM had announced a 50 per cent hike in daily and retainer fees of non-cadre law officers handling cases in various courts. The remuneration of Gana Sikhyaks, who have not passed Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET), was also hiked from Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000, while services those who had cleared were regularised.

The government also increased the monthly remuneration and other social security benefits for anganwadi workers and their assistants on Thursday.

The annual matric exam being conducted by Board of Secondary Education in Odisha started on February 20. To check malpractice and leakage of question papers, AI-powered CCTV cameras have been installed in and around 600 sensitive and hyper-sensitive examination and a few nodal centres.

According to sources, irregularities were reported from Cuttack, Kalahandi, Dhenkanal, Puri, and Nayagarh districts. Students were found talking and a woman cop was seen entering the examination room at AN High School at Narasinghpur in Cuttack district. The cameras detected an unauthorised person at the window of one of the examination rooms at Kanpur Girls’ High School, also in Cuttack. The students were also found talking while the exam was on at Chitrotpala Nodal High School at Janardanpur.

In Kalahandi’s Koksara, a woman teacher of Jawahar Uccha Bidyapitha was found talking on mobile phone at 9.17 am. Invigilators were found missing at Aurobinda Bidyamandir in Dhenkanal’s Meramandali at 10.04 am.

A delay in dispatching question papers was detected at Prachi Academy at Adaspur, Nodal High School in Puri’s Pipili and also at BC High School in Nayagarh’s Ranpur.

The Board has asked Director of Secondary Education-Odisha and Cuttack Superintendent of Police (SP) to take action against the erring officials and personnel, the sources added.

Notably, the BSE has set up a command control room at its head office to monitor movement and activities of examinees, invigilators and staff deployed for conduct of examination though CCTV cameras. Any irregularity or mismanagement is seen and tracked directly from the Board office.

The Court ruled that all diplomas and degrees, whether undergraduate, graduate, or Ph.D., introduced without specific approval for new courses or through distance education, except those existing at the time of obtaining deemed university status, are now considered invalid and unrecognized.

Justice Arun Monga, presiding over the bench, emphasized that the deemed universities violated regulations not only by establishing off-campus study centers but also by failing to obtain prior approval for introducing new courses and starting distance education.

The Court asserted that such violations cannot be condoned, and degrees awarded by the deemed universities are liable to be declared invalid and unrecognized.

The matter involved two private educational institutions, the Institute of Advanced Study in Education (IASE) and Janardan Rai Nagar Rajasthan Vidyapeeth (JRN), along with some of their students. These institutes sought recognition for degrees and diplomas awarded through distance education in various streams and courses.

Previously, the Orissa High Court had allowed a writ petition challenging the validity of an engineering degree obtained through distance mode from JRN. However, the Supreme Court, upholding the Kartar Singh v Union of India judgment, initiated a UGC inquiry into the future continuation of the deemed university status for both IASE and JRN.

The Supreme Court also ordered a CBI inquiry into the flagrant violations in awarding engineering degrees through distance education. In this context, the present matter focused on the validity of degrees and diplomas, excluding technical education, awarded through distance mode.

The petitioners argued for the recognition of degrees obtained from IASE and JRN, citing compliance with regulatory standards and the value of distance education. The respondents contended that engineering degrees awarded through distance education by these institutes were invalid.

The Court considered several questions, including whether deemed universities are governed by the provisions of the UGC Act for imparting general education, whether they can introduce new academic courses without prior UGC approval, and whether they can establish off-campus centers through franchise agreements without seeking approval.

In response, the Court held that deemed universities are subject to the UGC Act and its guidelines for general education, and they cannot introduce new courses without prior UGC approval, whether for conventional classroom education or distance mode education.

The Court declared degrees awarded in violation of these principles as invalid and unrecognized. Additionally, the court directed the UGC to conduct fresh examinations for affected students within a reasonable time.

The Court ordered both IASE and JRN to refund the entire amount charged to students enrolled in new unapproved courses, off-campus study centers without prior approval, or distance education without approval.

The decision underscores the importance of adherence to regulatory standards and the approval process in the field of education to maintain the quality and credibility of academic programs.

Utkal University in Bhubaneswar, which hosted the 5-day sports competition, secured the runner-up position in the category. In women’s category, KIIT University emerged as the team champion and Sambalpur University secured the runner-up position. Cash prizes of Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 were handed over to the first, second and third rank holders respectively.

Vice-Chancellor of Utkal University Prof. Sabita Acharya, Olympian and Odisha’s ace sprinter Dutee Chand, Registrar Dr. Kanhucharan Dhir and Director of Sports Council Dr. Bijaya Kumar Sundaray graced the award giving ceremony and distributed the prizes to the winners.

Speaking on the occasion as chief guest, Dutee said that the future is not shaped by reading only, but it is absolutely necessary to play along with reading. It is the sports that help in creating identity in life. Therefore, one should continue to practice for this by giving equal importance to reading and playing, she added.

Highlighting the State Government’s initiatives led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Dutee said that Odisha turned into the sporting capital of the country with state-of-art infrastructure and huge investments. Many players have also represented the State at the national and global level in several sports competitions and brought laurels for the State, she added.

The inter-university sports meet was organised by the Utkal University at Biju Patnaik Sports Complex and Kalinga Stadium with the financial support from Odisha State Higher Education Council, and Higher Education Department, Government of Odisha. Around 20 universities took part in 13 sports categories including 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500 meters race, javelin throw, discus throw, shot put throw, hurdles and relay race etc. The inter-university competition was held at the University of Utah’s Biju Patnaik Sports Comples and Bhubaneswar’s Kaling Stadium, Bhubaneswar.

Dr. Kirti Ranjan Mallick conducted the closing programme and offered vote of thanks.

Speaking to media persons, the minister said the government took the decision on the basis of suggestions made by the people to 5T chairman VK Pandian during his visit to different areas. The new colleges will start functioning from this academic year, he added.

Nayak said in order to solve the faculty crisis in the colleges, as many as 1,056 lecturers will be appointed through Staff Selection Board in next one week. While 467 lecturers were appointed in 2022-23 academic year, 1,033 appointments were made in 2023-24, he added.

Stating that there are 1,040 degree colleges in the state now against 548 in 2000, he said the number of universities has also increased from 5 to 24. The total universities include 17 government and 7 private. Besides, 21 fundamental research centres for excellence have been opened in the state.

For the benefits of the students, smart classrooms and laboratories have been opened in the colleges. The government has also made provision of e-scholarship, Byasakabi Fakir Mohan Bhasabruti, Gopabandhu Siksha Sahayata Yojana and Kalinga Siksha Sathi for them.

The minister said several schemes including Biju Yuva Empowerment Yojana, Green Passage Yojana, free civil service coaching have been introduced for the students.

While are busy making arrangements for the annual examination, thousands of secondary school teachers have been staging protest at Lower PMG in Bhubaneswar for the last 11 days. No concrete step was stated to have been taken to resolve the issue, sources said.

Under the circumstances, apprehensions have been expressed by many over the conduct of the important exam.

It may be noted here that secondary school teachers have been staging protest against Odisha government’s alleged failure in meeting their 21-point charter of demands.

The teachers are agitating at Lower PMG in the city since February 7in response to the call of the Odisha Secondary School Teachers’ Association (OSSTA).

The teachers’ demands included grants to eligible schools, salary system for 226 and 399 school teachers, removal of anomalies in the grade pay of Rs 2800, extension of retirement age of teachers to 62 years and pension for retired teachers of unaided schools.

Meanwhile, the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) it set to make use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to monitor the conduct of the annual high school examinations this year.
As per reports, AI-powered cameras will be installed at strong rooms, DEO offices, and examination halls. In case any discrepancies are noticed, the operators at the command will be intimated about it.

As per the schedule, the examination will begin with the first language Odia paper on February 20 while the exam for the second language English will be held on February 23. The students will appear for Mathematics paper on February 26, Hindi/Sanskrit on February 28, Science on March 2, and social science on March 4.

The vocational practical examinations will be conducted in respective schools by OSEPA between January 15 and 31.

The HSC examinations will be held in 2,991 centres in Odisha while 5,51,611 students have registered to appear for the exams. As many as 7831 students will sit for the SOSC examination in 55 centres while 3037 students will appear for the Madhyma examinations at 107 centres.

According to officials, keeping in view the possible heat wave, there will be no second sitting in the examinations. The evaluation of question papers will start from March 15 and is likely to be completed in the subsequent 12 days.