Governor Ram Nath Kovind and chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday asked university top bosses to focus on the academic calendar, ensure financial management, and strengthen law and order on campuses.
Vice-chancellors and pro-vice-chancellors of Patna University, Magadh University, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University (Muzaffarpur), Lalit Narayan Mithila University (Darbhanga), Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University, JP University (Chhapra) Nalanda Open University (Patna), Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University and Veer Kunwar Singh University (Ara) attended the conference at Raj Bhavan with the governor, who is the chancellor of state universities, and Nitish.
Advising on use of information technology for proper financial management, information to students on student credit cards, utilisation of wi-fi scheme and other matters, Kovind said: "Educational institutions are known for their academic activities and work. Universities should maintain their academic calendar. Admission, examination, publication of results and convocation should be held on time.
"Universities should focus on student-centric activities, so extra-curricular activities should be held regularly. To bring discipline among students, the activities of National Cadet Corps and National Service Scheme should be increased," he added.
Kovind also stressed on strengthening law and order on the campuses and holding regular students' union elections, senate syndicate meetings.
Nitish also harped on the academic calendar. "Bihar has a rich history in higher education. The ancient Nalanda and Vikramshila University were the centres of higher education which was known worldwide," said the chief minister. "Also, for students it was a matter of pride to be studying at Patna University and its colleges. We have to retain the glory of those days."
"The conference was good as the governor and the chief minister gave some vital suggestions," said one of the vice-chancellors present at the conference. "But the real problem lies in the bureaucratic hurdles universities face while implementing any scheme. The appointment process of assistant professors started in 2014 but it is yet to be completed. The delay is mainly due to bureaucrats who are not pushing the recruitment process."
Education minister Ashok Choudhary asked the university heads to ensure teachers remained at the institutions for minimum five hours a day, and the college teachers and principals were strict on use of unfair means in examinations.
