KSOU Bidar regional centre faces severe staff shortage

Here, director, superintendent double up as clerks and peons

 The regional centre of Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) here is facing with severe staff crunch for the past two years.

The regional centre started functioning from the heritage city on Aug 30, 2012. H S Rohit, who took charge as the director of the centre on the day of its inception, moved out of the place in less than a year due to severe shortage of staff.

Dr Anant Zendekar took charge as director of the centre on August 5, 2013. The director has just an office superintendent to assist him in all matters. The regional centre needs one FDC, SDC, a data entry operator and peon. But the said posts have remained unfilled. The duo combined double up as clerk, data entry operator, peon.

“The centre remains closed when the director goes on a leave and office superintendent goes out on official duty. This happens quite often. I have made many unsuccessful trips to the centre to get textbooks,” laments, Mohammad Mohsi­ns­ab, a student.

“I have written to the vice chancellor of KSOU several times seeking additional staff at regional centre. I have spent two years hoping that the KSOU would appoint the required staff,” says, Dr Anant Zendekar. When the regional centre was set up in the city of whispering monuments, many people who had quit the education midway for some reasons, saw it as an opportunity to continue their education. Many government staff write KSOU exams with an intention to get promotion or for the increment. In the first year of its inception, 180 students took exams from the Bidar centre. In the next two years the number of students taking exam rose to 288 and 450 respectively, the director explained.

The regional centre is supposed to distribute and receive applications, distribute textbooks to student, holding classes, selling brochures among others. The office superintendent and the director have to discharge these duties in the absence of clerks and peon.

Mysuru KSOU office has adequate manpower. But the regional centre here lacks even minimal staff. Those who wrote exams in 2004 are yet to receive their markscards. Students are forced to wait for hours, at times, for days if the director goes out on official duty or goes on a leave, rue students Chandrakant Mouli and Gautam of Chincholli.

Vice Chancellor of KSOU M G Krishnan said, “There is hardly any work at the regional centres. Additional staff will be appointed on ad hoc basis to meet the rush when the KSOU calls application for graduate and post-graduate courses.”