Patliputra University, which will be carved out of Magadh University colleges in Patna and Nalanda districts, will have its headquarters in Patna.
The Magadh University extension centre office in Rajendra Nagar will act as the administrative block of the new university, while its postgraduate departments will run from AN College and College of Commerce, Arts and Science.
On July 30, the cabinet approved the creation of Patliputra University and Purnea University by bifurcating the Magadh University, Bodhgaya, and BN Mandal University, Madhepura, respectively. The government circulated the bill in the state legislature on Monday and will table it in the House on Tuesday. After getting nod from the legislature and Raj Bhavan, the door for creation of two universities will open.
Additional education secretary K. Senthil Kumar said: "For now, the extension centre of Magadh University campus in Rajendra Nagar will be the administrative office of Patliputra varsity but the state will take the final decision later." The bifurcation aims at better administrative mechanism.
Sources said infrastructure-wise, the existing colleges of Magadh University in Patna are very sound, which can be easily developed into postgraduate departments of the varsity. AN College and College of Commerce, Arts and Science - the two constituent institutions of MU - already run postgraduate classes.
The College of Commerce, Arts and Science has separate blocks for arts, science and commerce along with separate blocks for geography, mass communication and law.
Tariq Fatmi, a teacher at College of Commerce, Arts and Science, said: "The six-acre college has all facilities to develop university postgraduate departments. Apart from separate blocks for arts, commerce and science, it has separate blocks for biology and biotechnology departments."
AN College, established in 1956, sprawls across 13 acres in the upscale Boring Road area. Technical courses are run out of the college's Shatabdi block. Apart from separate blocks, it has vast open spaces.
Most teaching and non-teaching employees of Magadh University are in a mood to oppose the bifurcation.
Amarnath Pathak, the general secretary of the MU non-teaching employees' association, said: "The bifurcation will leave MU with no asset. Our colleges in Patna are very rich in infrastructure and finance, as they run several courses. The decision will leave MU in Bodhgaya with colleges in Gaya and Aurangabad district, which are poor in infrastructure."
The jurisdiction of the new university will spread across Patna and Nalanda districts. It will have 25 constituent, 70 affiliated, three minority and two dental colleges. Constituent colleges are those where teachers and non-teaching employees get salaries from the university and the staff members of these colleges are treated as state government staff. Affiliated colleges get grants from the state government on a regular basis. With bifurcation, around three lakh students will get a new address.
