Equal opportunity cell for inclusive higher education

BHUBANESWAR: Every higher educational institute in the State will soon get an equal opportunity cell (EOC) as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. The Higher Education Department and the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) Department will work jointly to establish EOCs in colleges and universities to advice students from marginalised sections in academic, financial and social aspects.

A workshop was hosted in the city on Tuesday where principals and Vice Chancellors of the State Government-run Universities from across the State were informed about the modalities of EOCs and ways to promote inclusive education in their institutions.

EOC is a scheme by the UGC where emphasis is given to deprived groups (SC/ST/OBC/PWDs and transgenders) for learning and mainstreaming themselves in society. UGC has made it a mandatory component in the universities and colleges but only a handful of institutions in Odisha have the facility.
Speaking at the workshop, SSEPD Department Minister Prafulla Samal said to ensure equity and equal opportunity to marginalised students and bring about social inclusion, it is important that the educational institutions of the State have these cells.

The State Government has announced awards for Government and private educational institutions to constitute these cells. An amount of `50,000 will be provided to institutions that set up these cells and an additional `50,000 would be provided to educational institutions that provide scholarships to PWDs. An amount of `10,000 would be provided to individuals who facilitate scholarships for PWDs.

The EOCs will work towards ensuring rights of transgenders and towards providing them an inclusive environment in the educational institutions, Niten Chandra, Secretary of SSEPD Department, said, adding that the cells will also look into the menace of alcoholism and drug addiction among students and sentisise them about prevention of elderly abuse.

EOCs will have an advisory committee with the principal as chairperson and three other members including an advisor, to review the implementation of various schemes and programmes for the welfare of the marginalised students. The committee would meet at least once in four months and action taken on decisions will be reviewed in the subsequent meetings.