Outgoing acting vice-chancellor of Patna University Sudipto Adhikari (left) talks to Shambhu Nath Singh while handing over the charge to him on Tuesday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, Aug. 2: The new vice-chancellor of Patna University (PU), Shambhu Nath Singh not only met the officials, employees and teachers on his first day at the job, he also got a taste of students’ protest on campus.

Unfazed, Singh said he would try to restore the lost glory of the university.

Singh told the reporters: “My priority will be to restore the lost glory of Patna University. Two things on the top of my list are the revamp of the library and timely publication of results.”

Earlier in the morning, PU registrar Manoj Kumar met Singh at the airport, where he arrived from New Delhi. The new vice-chancellor (VC) first went to his official residence and then his office.

When Singh reached the university around 10am, a large number of academic and non-academic employees were waiting to greet him. Outgoing VC Sudipto Adhikari reached the campus at 11.30am and handed Singh the charge. Singh also said that the library was the real face of any university and PU administration would try to give a facelift to the central library, which is considered to be one of the oldest libraries of the state. Adhikari, too, had planned to give the library an upgrade. He had proposed a verification of all the books, as there are no clear records of texts and magazines in the library. Repairs of furniture and revamp of the toilets had also been proposed. However, he had to face protest from various students’ bodies, who demanded that the library be kept open for 24 hours. The university administration, on the other hand, decided to close down the library for indefinite period for renovation and modernisation.

Singh also stressed the necessity to publish results on time. The university authorities had failed to streamline the results despite introducing changes in its academic calendar. Though the examinations last year were held on time, there was an invariable delay in the publication of results. This prevented the students from applying to universities outside the state for higher education. The new VC’s declaration came almost on cue, as a number of students were waiting for him to express their grievances over alleged anomalies in the second-year BA results. Singh assured them that he would look into the matter personally.

PU teachers also gave a farewell to outgoing Adhikari.

Patna University Teachers’ Association general secretary Randhir Kumar Singh said: “Adhikari had a short but memorable tenure, as a number of reforms were initiated when he was the VC. The dues of teachers were cleared.”

The VC provided salaries to teachers and employees of varsity according to the Sixth Pay Commission from the varsity’s internal resources.