Odisha increasing student-teacher ratio in colleges: Naveen Patnaik

BHUBANESWAR: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik said the Odisha government was taking various steps to develop a vibrant higher-education ecosystem in the state. Over 1,000 professors, associate and assistant professors, and junior lecturers have been recruited in different government and non-government colleges recently, Patnaik said.

"This has helped in increasing the student-teacher ratio in our colleges," he said virtually during an induction programme at the Loka Seba Bhavan, the state secretariat, for non-teaching staff for government colleges. Laboratory assistants and junior librarians have been appointed to give more thrust to quality education as their role is essential to create a dynamic environment for education in institutions, Patnaik said.

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The chief minister hoped that they would encourage scientific aptitude among the students. Patnaik highlighted that the state was developing more playgrounds at the school level, and stadiums at the block level to groom sportspersons from childhood. Recruitment of physical education teachers will "certainly play a positive role" in enhancing the interest of the students in sports, and create more national and international players, he added. Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said that under the direction of the chief minister, the state was going through a continuous recruitment process for educational institutions.