Bihar Raj Bhawan vests SHEC with power to vet varsity statutes, ordinances

According to a senior official, around 73 ordinances, regulations and draft statutes, many related to distance education courses being run by different universities, are pending and would be referred to the SHEC for examination

All pending draft ordinances and regulations in different universities of Bihar, as well as the draft statutes, now have to be directly referred to the state higher education council (SHEC) for examination. After deliberation, the SHEC will send them to Raj Bhawan for final approval with its comments.

Bihar governor’s secretariat has written to all the vice chancellors, education department and the SHEC for compliance to the new directive.

Bihar governor’s secretariat has written to all the vice chancellors, education department and the SHEC for compliance to ensure a smooth and fast workflow. Hitherto, the universities sent their ordinances, statutes and regulations directly to the chancellor’s secretariat for approval, which often consumed a lot of time and led to long pendency.

According to a senior official, around 73 ordinances, regulations and draft statutes, many related to distance education courses being run by different universities, are pending and would be referred to the SHEC for examination.

RL Chongthu, secretary to the governor, has instructed that the draft statutes prepared by the statute committee should also be sent to the SHEC for its opinion.

“Any draft statute requiring the consent of the government shall be referred by the SHEC to the government for prior approval before sending it to the chancellor’s office for further action,” he added.

The SHEC has also been vested with the responsibility of suggesting a roadmap to the chancellor as well as the Bihar government for implementation of the new education policy (NEP) in the higher education sphere.

SHEC was constituted under the Bihar State Higher Education Council Act, 2018. The bill had been passed by the Bihar assembly in March 2018 itself, but it got the governor’s nod in January 2020.