Bihar Assembly Speaker can now nominate members to senates of state universities

There will be 10 senate members to be nominated from the Vidhan Sabha to the senate of each state university.

The Bihar Legislative Assembly on Thursday empowered the Speaker to nominate members to the senate of the state universities, including agriculture universities, Bihar state homoeopathic board, state council for Ayurvedic and Unani medicine, Bihar land commission, Bihar state madrasa shiksha board and Bihar state Sanskrit shiksha board.

Vijay Sinha gestures towards the media after being elected as the Speaker of Bihar Assembly during the winter assembly session. (Santosh Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

Parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary moved the resolution in the House, which was passed. Of the 10 senate members to be nominated from the Vidhan Sabha to the senate of each state university, one each will be from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe, while three will be from the other backward classes.

In the state agriculture universities, seven members each will be nominated, while two members will be nominated to the homoeopathic board and three to the council for Ayurvedic and Unani medicine. There will be five members nominated to the land commission.

Besides, there will be two members each nominated to the Bihar state madrasa shiksha board and Bihar state Sanskrit shiksha board. Two members will be nominated to the state level coordination committee under the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection and Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.

In the universities, the Governor, as well as the state government, also nominate members to the senate, the key body for governance of the institutions. It also includes formers vice-chancellors and former principals. Another important body in the state universities is the syndicate, which includes vice-chancellor, pro-vice-chancellor, representatives of the chancellor and the government, elected representatives from the senate, besides two principals and head of the departments each.