Showcause notice heat on 3 Sanskrit colleges in Odisha over rule flout

Bhubaneswar: The higher education department recently issued showcause notices to three Sanskrit colleges over a series of irregularities detected during surprise inspections of the institutions by the regional director of education, (RDE) Bhubaneswar.The colleges are Mahapurush Achutananda Sanskrit Degree College in Cuttack district, Maa Sarala Sanskrit Degree College in Kendrapara and Dr Harekrushna Mahatab Adarsha Sanskrit Degree College in Cuttack town.RDE Bhubaneswar Saroj Laxmi Singh recently made surprise visits to the three institutions to interact with students regarding scholarship-related matters under the Odisha State Scholarship portal. Singh said while no students was found in classrooms during class hours in all three colleges, the principals were absent and faculty members were found watching mobile phones and engaging in casual conversations. The attendance registers of both teaching and non-teaching staff were blank, and biometric attendance systems were not put to use. “It came to notice that both the teachers and administrative staff were not signing the attendance registers for several days,” Singh said.Besides, the college principals were asked to provide updated cash books and utilisation certificates of govt funds provided to them in the past five years. However, none of the three non-govt-aided colleges could comply. As a result, the department issued showcause notices to the principals seeking explanation of the lapses and overall mismanagement in the colleges. It warned that failure to provide satisfactory explanations could invite stringent action.Earlier, the department had cautioned all Sanskrit colleges under the four regional directorates against violating the mandatory 7-hour work rule, warning of grant-in-aid suspension and punitive measures.