Selection of top brass in Bihar varsities under scanner, minister calls raid ‘unfortunate’

On Thursday, the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations of Bihar( FUTAB) said that the alleged corruption charges levelled against the MU VC, “bring shame to the entire teaching community and points out serious flaws in the process of their selection”.

Bihar education minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary on Thursday called the raid on the office of Magadh University vice chancellor Rajendra Prasad, his staff and others in a corruption case unfortunate and added that it would earn a bad name for the state

With the recent raid on the Magadh University VC’s office, the mechanism of selection of persons for the apex position in the state’s universities is being questioned. (HT PHOTO.)

With the recent raid on the Magadh University VC’s office, the mechanism of selection of persons for the apex position in the state’s institutions of higher education is once again under the scanner.

“The development is out of the domain of the education department and is a separate issue. But such an impression is not good for the government. The appointment and functioning of VCs should be transparent and only the deserving ones should be selected for the top position to bring about a much-needed turnaround in higher education. The process must be transparently followed. At the top, one must appear to be clean and transparent,” Choudhary said.

On Thursday, the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations of Bihar( FUTAB) said that the alleged corruption charges levelled against the MU VC, “bring shame to the entire teaching community and points out serious flaws in the process of their selection”.

“Therefore, the Chancellor should ask all the VCs and those officials dealing with university finance, including examination, to immediately declare their assets,” said FUTAB working president KB Sinha. The association’s general secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh also echoed his views.

Citing the usual practice of obtaining police verification reports before appointment to any high office, they said it seemed to have been given a go by. “The VCs wield more power than even a Cabinet Minister but unfortunately the power is not being used to improve academic and administrative environment,” they added.

Social analyst Prof NK Choudhary said that both Raj Bhawan and the government would have to take the blame for the continuous slide in higher education and selection of VCs with dubious record.

“Premises of the VC being raided was unheard of earlier. We are getting reports that huge amounts of cash has also been recovered. All this point to a deep malaise and the factors that have led to such a situation needs to be addressed forthwith. It means something is seriously amiss and the authorities must get to the bottom of the matter, as exposing one may not be enough. There may be more black sheep and their patrons within the system,” he added.

A number of VCs from MU, JPU, BRABU, and Purnia University in the recent past have come under the scanner of the vigilance department. Recently, Prof. Jaiswal from PPU had to resign before completion of his tenure, while the VC of VKSU was sent on forced leave after a probe pointed to irregularities at their level. Several other VCs of NOU, TMBU and BNMU had to resign after a very short period of their selection.