Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
it is sad that the academic community, students and their unions, politicians and the press find no reason to resent against denial of honors-courses in Oriya in the Model Degree Colleges at Malkangiri, Nuapada, Nawarangpur, Nayagarh, Boudh, Sonepur,Rayagada,and Deogarh since 2016. It is yet another deathblow of Naveen Patnaik to the Language of the State.
All the above colleges situated in educationally backward districts offer Honors-Courses in Economics, Political Science, Education, Sociology and Anthropology in Arts stream; but no Oriya.
Order No. 14355 of the Higher Education department, issued on June 03, 2016 shows that teachers from the College Branch were posted to these Colleges as Principals-in-charge. The position is yet the same, which shows that the State government had no intention to make these Colleges “Model”. But, these “model Colleges”, with no Honors-Courses in Oriya were designed to deny majority of the students the dignity of becoming graduates with honors.
Malkangiri, Nuapada, Nawarangpur, Nayagarh, Boudh, Sonepur,Rayagada,and Deogarh are all backward areas where natural language of the secondary and higher secondary students is Oriya. In the degree colleges, they could have easily excelled in Oriya honors and the above districts could have given the State larger numbers of degree holders with honors.
Naveen Patnaik is so much averse to Oriya language that in the month of May,2016 when the Law department had created the Draft Bill to amend the Orissa Official language Act in tune with what this reporter had proposed as a member of the Ministerial Committee on implementation of the Act, he had clandestinely changed the same draft with an unauthorized one, in order to keep Oriya disused in administration. Earlier when scholars working with Oriya Bhasha Pratisthan had created the documented report of claim for Classical Status to Oriya Language, he had restricted its print to only 100 copies in order to debar people of Orissa from knowing why their language is classical and had protected the thieves of this document even after being informed of the offence. More disturbing was the fact that the alleged offenders were sumptuously helped by the government with money and many amenities. This mentality of the CM had encouraged anti-Oriya elements in administration to issue orders No. 17097/HE dated June 25, 2016 that denied Oriya Honors to students of these Colleges branded as “model”, which other Colleges are supposed to follow.
Naveen had not heeded to our demand for dismissal from his cabinet the higher education minister Samir De, who had ordered for jettisoning Oriya as a subject in all eminent degree colleges. Had this reporter not exposed De’s design, Oriya might have been wiped out from study courses in all eminent colleges. Similarly, his government ordered that Oriya text books shall be printed in English and Oriya language shall be taught in English. Naveen was forced to do away with this mischief after ORISSAMATTERS discussed the matter.
in yet another assault on Oriya language, there was order to recruit Lecturers in various subjects except Oriya, which this reporter had exposed in bhashaandolan.com. This has forced the Naveen Government to invite applications for 278 posts of lecturer in Oriya, under advertisement No.006/2022 dated SSB, April 11, 2022.
These are a few instances of how Naveen Raj is full of conspiracy against Oriya Language in the academic level. Non-available of Honors Courses in the above mentioned “Model Degree Colleges” is a part of this conspiracy.
If Sri Naveen Patnaik gets qualms of conscience. his government in the department of Higher Education should issue immediate orders for Honors Courses in Oriya in all the degree Colleges, particularly the Model Degree Colleges subjected to academic trauma under Order No.17097/HE. dated June 25, 2016.
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