Odisha chief secretary, Suresh Chandra Mohapatra has announced that the state government will invest Rs 1,000 crore to upgrade the state-run Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) into a Centre of Excellence for technical education and compete with Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other national institutes.
“The state government will develop VSSUT as a centre of excellence for technical education. Over Rs 1,000 crore will be spent for the transformation of VSSUT,” Mohapatra told reporters.
According to the official statement a master plan for the purpose will be prepared and submitted to chief minister Naveen Patnaik within a fortnight. The chief secretary said around 80 acres of land has been identified for the expansion of VSSUT.
“Now, the university has 5,000 students. The government is planning to increase its capacity so that 10, 000 students, teachers and faculty can stay in the campus, he said.
Further, the statement mentioned that the team of officials led by Mohapatra held discussion with the students, teachers, vice-chancellor during a visit to the institute after which the announcement was made . They also inspected the existing facilities in the VSSUT campus, the statement added.
Additionally, the chief secretary and other officials further visited Goddess Samalei temple and reviewed transformational works being done in the shrine.
The state government had earlier upgraded the University College of Engineering (UCE), Burla, to VSSUT in 2009. The UCE was established near the Hirakud dam in 1956, the statement noted.
Meanwhile, the tenure of chief secretary, Suresh Chandra Mohapatra has been extended to another six months by the Centre. His tenure will now end on February 28, 2023, according to the official statement. This is the second time that the tenure of the chief secretary has been extended.
With inputs from PTI
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