Odisha's Governor Appoints New Vice-Chancellors Amidst Opposition Protests

New Leadership for Odisha's Universities

Bhubaneswar: On Monday, Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati announced the appointment of new vice-chancellors for 14 universities across Odisha.

Chandi Prasad Nanda has been designated as the vice-chancellor of Utkal University, while Santosh Kumar Tripathy will lead Fakir Mohan University. Additionally, Arka Kumar Das Mohapatra has been appointed as the VC of Ravenshaw University.

Other institutions receiving new leadership include Khallikote Unitary University in Berhampur and Shree Jagannath Sanskrit University in Puri.

In a social media update, Kambhampati expressed optimism that these new VCs would enhance education, research, and innovation, thereby positively impacting the future of higher education in Odisha.

This announcement came shortly after the opposition party, BJD, threatened significant protests statewide due to the prolonged vacancies in the VC positions.

The BJD criticized the government for what they termed administrative paralysis in the universities, citing that the recruitment advertisement for VCs was released nearly nine months ago without any appointments being made.