Sunanda Panigrahi memorial Spoken English Classes inaugurated in Odisha’s Sambalpur

Sambalpur: Sriballav and Sunanda Panigrahi Foundation, formed in 2021 in the memory of noted leader of Odisha late Sriballav Panigrahi and his wife educationist late Sunanda Panigrahi, today inaugurated Spoken English Classes at Govt Women’s College in Sambalpur.

This is the first venture of the Foundation and is in association with the ‘Mo College’ initiative.

The classes were inaugurated by Director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Sambalpur Professor Mahadeo Jaiswal in the presence of Professor Rajashree Baral, Principal, Govt Women’s College. The well-attended programme had a lot of students and prominent citizens of Sambalpur in the audience.

Sunanda Panigrahi retired as Reader in English from this college at the end of 2005. She had served for over 25 years in this college and had dedicated her life to the cause of teaching. She was a very popular teacher and was known for the dedication and discipline she exhibited towards her profession. Despite several health issues, she continued to teach dedicatedly.

Sunanda Panigrahi Memorial Spoken English classes will be free of charge and are aimed at Undergraduate and Post-Graduate students, studying in the college. Each batch will consist of about 40 students who will get training in improving their communicative English skills. These classes aim at equipping students with English-speaking skills, enabling them to get better opportunities when they pass out from this college.

A small photo presentation was made on the life and times of Sunanda Panigrahi. Many pictures of her days in the college were showcased.

Professor Jaiswal lauded the initiative of the foundation in reaching out to the students of the Govt Women’s College, through these classes. He talked about women’s education in detail and lamented about the poor place of India in the Women Development Index where India is ranked at 127 out of 146 countries according to the World Economic Forum's annual Gender Gap Report, 2023.

Jaiswal also talked about his own initiatives at IIM Sambalpur, wherein it obtained India’s best gender diversity (50% in 2019) across all IIMs. This has actually become a case study and has transformed gender diversity across all IIMs. He also talked about the simplicity of late Sriballav Panigrahi, who despite being a Member of Parliament, stayed in the two-roomed quarter allocated to his wife in the women’s college campus.

The Foundation chairperson and former Sambalpur MLA Raseswari Panigrahi addressed the gathering through a video message because of her indisposition. She talked about Sunanda and her dedication to her profession despite ill health. She exhorted students to take advantage of the classes.

Managing Trustee of the foundation, noted non-resident Odia, Priyadarshee Panigrahi (son of late Sriballav and Sunanda Panigrahi) spoke about the aims and objectives of the foundation and reminisced about his mother’s days as a teacher in the college. He talked about the importance given to education by his parents and how the foundation aims to contribute to bringing about change in society.

The function was presided over by the Principal of the college Professor Rajashree Baral and coordinated by ‘Mo College’ Coordinator Jogesh Chandra Bhoi. Principal Professor Baral was very happy that the foundation had chosen Govt Women’s College, Sambalpur to start its teaching initiatives.

Other prominent speakers like Dr. Uma, the administrative Bursar hoped that the students will take full advantage of the course. Director of the course Dr. Kamdeba Sahoo, who has pioneered communicative English in the region, gave out the details of the course to the audience.

Senior journalist Subhas Panigrahi talked about Sunanda Panigrahi’s association and relationship with the college. He also thanked the sons of Sriballav and Sunanda Panigrahi -- Priyadarshee & Rajarshi for taking up good causes and keeping the memories of their parents alive.

Senior journalist and advisor to the Sriballav and Sunanda Panigrahi Foundation Siba Sankar Nanda offered a vote of thanks and appreciated the cooperation received from the college authorities in starting these classes.

The Foundation seeks to promote values and ideals that were close to the hearts of Sriballav and Sunanda Panigrahi. Among other things, it will aim to promote probity in public life, good governance and try to empower the marginalized and deprived sections of society, particularly through education. The flagship program of the foundation, the annual ‘Sriballav Panigrahi Memorial Lecture’ will be held in December, 2023 as per the foundation.