‘How dare he’: Governor’s public rebuke for top Bihar official at Patna event

Bihar governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar referred to letters sent by the education department to Raj Bhavan over the past few months

PATNA: Bihar governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Tuesday sharply criticised a top state education department official at a Patna university event for challenging the authority of the chancellor and trying to curtail the autonomy of universities but made it clear that his views on the official’s recent actions did not imply he had differences with chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Bihar governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar and chief minister Nitish Kumar were at a Patna University event

Arlekar referred to letters sent by the education department to Raj Bhavan over the past few months and stressed that a secretary-rank official challenging the authority of the chancellor and the autonomy of universities was unheard of. The governor is the ex-officio chancellor of state universities.

“How does he dare do this? What problem can an officer have with autonomy? The improvement in the state’s universities and colleges cannot come if all the wings - Raj Bhavan, the government and the institutions - work in isolation. It has to be a coordinated effort for the common good. One needs to think and act to prevent such unsavoury situations. There is no need to take things further,” Arlekar said after inaugurating the refurbished iconic Wheeler Senate House at the university on Teacher’s Day.

In his speech, Nitish Kumar had sought an extension to vice chancellor Girish Choudhary whose three-year tenure ends on September 22. Choudhary has batted for a five-year term for vice-chancellors, saying this would enable them to complete projects.

Arlekar said he could look into Nitish Kumar’s request, but not if the authority of the chancellor was undermined by an official. The governor did not name additional chief secretary KK Pathak, who heads the education department, in his speech.

“If attempts are made to put down the chancellor, it cannot happen. If an officer can act like this with the chancellor, one can well imagine the treatment meted out to vice-chancellors and teachers,” he said, a reference to the back-and-forth between Raj Bhavan and the education department headed by Pathak.

The governor said that he had been receiving messages and emails from vice-chancellors, pro-vice-chancellors and university, college and school teachers about the way they were humiliated by the officials.

“Teachers are the ones who command the highest respect. If I am here today, it is because of my teacher,” he added, advising the state government and its bureaucracy to reflect on why teachers were being driven to the streets to protest.

Seeking a change in the mindset of officials, the governor said the bureaucrats are supposed to improve the system and provide the facilities to let them perform in the best possible way. “There is no substitute for a teacher…. We must think about what is driving teachers to the streets so frequently. Why are they so dissatisfied? Why is there such an acute shortage of teachers in schools and colleges? After all, everyone bows before teachers and they deserve the highest pedestal… It pains when they are insulted and made to suffer,” he added.

The governor said the administration and officials needed to have the right approach towards teachers.

Arlekar said his remarks did not signal that there were differences between the chief minister and him. “I read in the media about a showdown between Raj Bhawan and the government. There is nothing like this. I and the chief minister can sit and discuss, but an officer should know what he should do. There is no better day than the Teacher’s Day to resolve to make a coordinated effort to improve the system,” he added.

The chief minister said he was an alumnus of Patna university and always favoured its development. This is why he had batted for central university status. “But it could not happen. We still want it to get central university status, as it is the seventh-oldest university in the country,” Kumar said.