The human resource development department office at New Secretariat. Telegraph picture

Patna, Aug. 4: The state human resource development (HRD) department will organise an international conference on Quality in Higher Education: Challenges and Opportunities in India in the state capital on October 20 and 21.

The announcement comes at a time when hue and cry is being raised over the appointment of vice-chancellors and pro-vice-chancellors in various universities and the state HRD minister P.K. Shahi terming these appointments as illegal and not in the larger interest of higher education.

The state HRD department director (higher education), Sitaram Singh, said: “The conference is being organised by the state HRD department and Institute of Public Enterprises, Hyderabad.”

Singh said the focus would be on Bihar and participants will present their views and suggestions for improving higher education in the state.

In the two-day conference, experts will present their papers and make plans for improving higher education in the state. Singh said: “Many important delegates, including few from foreign universities, are expected to take part in the meet.”

The Institute of Public Enterprises is a non-profit educational society, which aims at education, training, research and consultancy for business enterprises in the private and public sectors.

The higher education director also said apart from many participants from foreign universities, Bond University, Australia, is also going to take part in the international conference.

The academic atmosphere in higher education can be gauged from the fact that in many colleges there are departments which run with just one or two teachers and they have to take classes for more than 100 students.