TNI Bureau: A delegation of the Biju Yuva Janata Dal and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal met Odisha Governor Dr. Haribabu Kambhampati on Monday, seeking his intervention over the prolonged delay in appointing Vice-Chancellors in 14 state universities.

Led by Biju Yuva Janata Dal President Chinmay Sahu and Biju Chhatra Janata Dal President Ipsita Sahu, the delegation submitted a memorandum alleging that the absence of full-time Vice-Chancellors for over 14 months has caused administrative stagnation, academic disruption, delays in recruitment, and serious hardship for students, teachers, and staff.

They said amendments made in 2024 and 2025 to the University Amendment Act, 2020 have weakened transparency and merit-based selection in the appointment process, raising concerns about fairness and institutional autonomy. The leaders also alleged attempts to politicise universities and stressed that higher education institutions must remain free from ideological interference.

The memorandum highlighted acute staff shortages across 17 universities, including vacancies of 706 Assistant Professors, 458 Associate Professors, 261 Professors, and 2,325 non-teaching staff, adversely affecting teaching, research, and administration.

The delegation also criticised the State Government for failing to appoint a Vice-Chancellor at Odia University and for not fulfilling its election promise to establish the Odisha Adivasi Swabhiman University.

Universities functioning without regular Vice-Chancellors include Utkal University, Ravenshaw University, Fakir Mohan University, Rama Devi Women’s University, Gangadhar Meher University, Khalikote Autonomous University, Madhusudan Law University, Rajendra University, Dharanidhar University, Maa Manikeswari University, Vikram Dev University, Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanja Deo University, Shri Jagannath Sanskrit University, and Odia University.

The Governor assured the delegation that the process of appointing Vice-Chancellors in 13 universities is underway and will be completed soon, and that long-pending vacancies will be filled expeditiously.

While welcoming the assurance, the BJD youth and student wings said they would launch a statewide democratic movement if the Vice-Chancellor posts are not filled by the last week of February 2026.