Moved by tears of students, Bihar education minister urges Governor to restore order in varsities

Bihar’s education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary also handed over a letter to the Governor and Chancellor, reminding him of the concerns over derailed academic sessions, which also got affected due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Days after the angry outburst of students before Bihar’s education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary at his office over inordinately delayed academic sessions in most universities, the state government on Friday took up the matter with the Governor, who is also Chancellor of state varsities.

Bihar education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary. (HT Photo)

Choudhary called on Governor Phagu Chouhan and apprised him of the government’s growing concerns.

He also handed over a letter to the Chancellor, reminding him of the concerns over derailed academic sessions, which also got affected due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“I had requested you to take special initiative in this regard and you had also issued necessary directive to the vice chancellors. After the pandemic, the situation has also become normal now. But the desired improvement is yet to happen,” says the letter, which has been seen by HT.

Maintaining that the situation in Magadh University (Bodh Gaya) and JPU University (Chapra) was extremely worrisome, the minister said that in MU, there was rampant ad hocism, with all the key positions under additional charge, while JPU was unable to hold exams properly.

“This is affecting the future of Bihar students, for whom the entire system is meant. Many students met me personally, as they were suffering for no fault of theirs due to delayed sessions despite being selected for various jobs or institutions. This is causing genuine discontent among the students and an uncomfortable situation for the government,” he wrote, urging the chancellor to give “effective direction” to the VCs in the matter.

“The Governor has assured me that he would take a positive initiative soon,” Choudhary later said.

Delayed academic sessions in Bihar’s universities are nothing new. In some universities, the session is running late by up to three years, like in MU and JPU.

Earlier this week, female students of MU, some of them in tears, met the education minister at his office and narrated their plight.

MU has been in turmoil of late over corruption charges against former vice chancellor Rajendra Prasad, who had to quit after the Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) got the arrest warrant against him following rejection of his anticipatory bail plea by the Patna High Court.

“But it is not the story of MU only. MU has been in absolute disarray, with exams completely derailed and academic atmosphere thoroughly missing. There is no accountability. The exams of 2019 have not been held even in 2022, while the results of those held are awaited. Since 2019, MU has seen nearly half a dozen VCs. This is happening when the time is running out for implementation of the New Education Policy (NEP), which promises greater flexibility in the interest of the students, while there is no trace of semester system at the graduation level in the state institutions,” said social scientist Prof NK Choudhary.

Be it BRA Bihar university, Munger University, Purnea University, JP University, BN Mandal University, Veer Kuer Singh University or TM Bhagalpur University, none has exam calendar in order — a prerequisite for any good institution. “The institutions are crumbling as they don’t have effective leadership and there is nobody to question it. Ultimately, Bihar is the biggest sufferer, which has started manifesting through the wails of future generations,” Choudhary said.