Now, seven hours a day mandatory for Odisha lecturers

Bhubaneswar: In a significant development, lecturers in government colleges in Odisha have been instructed to be ‘physically’ available on campus for at least seven hours a day, including five hours for teaching. An official notification in this regard will be out soon by the Higher Education Department.

A decision in this regard was taken during a meeting between government college principals and Higher Education Department officials here to chalk out strategies to improve the higher education system in the state.

In the meeting, chaired by Higher Education Minister Arun Sahoo, it was decided that a government college lecturer have to compulsorily devote at least five hours for teaching and two hours for administrative tasks. Besides, the teachers have to finish their break within 30 minutes, an official, who attended the meeting, said.

“We are taking views from principals of all government colleges and other stakeholders regarding how to strengthen the higher education system in the state,” Sahoo told reporters after the meeting.

Among other decisions, the Department has decided to set up biometric attendance in all government colleges in the state within two-three months. Currently, 16 out of 52 colleges have biometric attendance systems.

This apart, the state government will initiate process to appoint permanent principals in all government colleges, which are currently running in-charge principals, the official informed.

Notably, the state government has proposed Rs 2375.34 crore in the budget for the Higher Education during 2019-20.