Bhubaneswar, May 13 (IANS): Odisha Higher Education Minister Pradeep Panigrahi on Wednesday said the state government has taken an in-principle decision to increase the number of seats in government colleges by 20 percent from the current academic session.
The decision means about one lakh more seats in 2 and 3 colleges, said Panigrahi.
The minister said it would help the students wanting to pursue higher education in government colleges.
The decision has been necessitated by a higher pass percentage in this year's matriculation examination, he said.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to offer Bachelor of Education and Master of Education courses in 29 government colleges and six universities in Odisha from 2016-17 to address the huge shortage of trained teachers in the state.