Bhubaneswar: Unrest prevailed on the Sailabala Women’s College, Cuttack, campus on Saturday, with students staging demonstrations over their demand for university status for the institution. The move came a day after the state govt announced 4 new greenfield universities at the district headquarters of Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak and Jharsuguda in the 2026-27 Budget.The students and alumni members raised the issue with the govt for a month, but on Saturday, classes were suspended owing to the protests. “This is the oldest women’s college in Odisha and the 3rd oldest women’s college in India. Despite that, the govt is ignoring the growth of the institution. At a time when we are agitating to upgrade our college to a university, the higher education department is announcing new universities,” said Priyambada Lenka, a student.The college currently has 18 PG departments and secured a NAAC A grade from the University Grants Commission. The students further demanded that no college land should be diverted to the culture department for the setting up of a museum. The department announced the conversion of the residence of Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das on the college premises into a museum to showcase his life and times.However, both students and alumni members of the college protested the move on the ground that diverting college land for non-academic purposes will only curtail future growth of the institution. A part of the college land has already been diverted by the govt for the Chandi Mandir beautification project.They said the agitation will continue until the demand is met. On Friday, higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj informed the state assembly that the demand for university status for SB Women’s College is under consideration of the state govt.
