Determined to turn the National Law University of Orissa (NLUO) as a centre of legal excellence in the country, the newly-appointed Vice Chancellor Professor Srikrishna Rao on Monday said he would focus on strengthening the teaching and research aspects of the university.

With an illustrious career in legal academics spanning two decades, Professor Rao, who took charge of the university late last month, said that he would focus on developing the thrust areas of research of NLUO as per local needs. “Access to justice and public legal education will be other areas the university will focus on to cater to the unmet legal needs of the country,” he said.

Switching over to academics in 1995 after a brief period of legal practice, Professor Rao was associated with National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), Hyderabad, Gujrat National Law University (GNLU) and Gandhinagar and National Law University, Delhi (NLUD).

Expressing concern over the poor teacher-student ratio at NLUO, the VC said that he would also focus on recruiting good faculty saying that teachers play a crucial role in development of institutions. With over 600 students currently on the university roll both in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, there are only 25 teachers to cater to the academic needs.

Sharing his experience with NLUD, Professor Rao said that the law university in the Capital had certain inherent advantages, and the Delhi government as well as the Delhi High Court had extended cooperation for this institution, set up in 2008, to grow fast . Stating that autonomy and independence for the VC were the other reasons for the growth of the NLUD, Rao hoped that he would also get the same support and cooperation from the Odisha government and Orissa High Court here.

It may be mentioned that Professor Rao is the fifth VC of the five-year-old law university that was set up in 2009. While three VCs left the University citing personal reasons, the acting vice chancellor Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi relinquished the post after the appointment of Professor Rao last month.

Source : The Hindu...