Patna, Jan. 16: The hunt for vice-chancellors of five universities has brought the focus back on higher education whose clean-up, academics say, should begin at the top.

Academics pointed to the moral authority once commanded by past vice-chancellors of Patna University over students and teachers.

Through the decades, moral authority has declined sharply and during the last few years, VCs have been held captive and even abused by students. “It is an indication of the sliding status of persons being selected for the post. The office has lost the respect because of controversial persons or yes-men of politicians being appointed to the post,” said a retired teacher of Patna University, recalling a photograph of a senior politician sitting with his feet on the chair and five VCs standing.

With just over a week left for the appointment of new vice-chancellors of five universities (tenure of incumbent VCs is ending on January 24), all eyes are set on Raj Bhavan, but there is still large-scale uncertainty among teachers and academicians on who should get the top jobs.

Teachers feel the apathy on part of the government in improving higher education and appointment of VCs getting more political colour is the main reason for the uncertainty. Chemistry professor and Federation of University Service Teachers’ Association of Bihar, Ram Jatan Sinha said: “Patna University had a glorious past and it has seen many distinguished persons who were not only academically sound but also known nationally and internationally for their works being appointed as vice-chancellors.”

Teachers and academics rue this uncertainty, as earlier everyone had prior information about who would be appointed as vice-chancellors as the person appointed used to be from their fraternity only.

A teacher from the bygone era recalled the impact the presence of then Patna University vice-chancellor Mahendra Pratap had on then student leaders Lalu Prasad and Sushil Kumar Modi, who were part of the fiery JP agitation. “If Laluji was staging a dharna on the PU campus, Mahendra Pratap would just go and sit beside him. Laluji would immediately call off his dharna and would disappear,” said the teacher.

Another former VC G.P. Sinha’s era is still remembered. “Once a group of PU students gheraoed him when he was on his way to the airport. Sinha just got out of the car and asked the students to identify themselves. The students vanished into thin air mumbling a few words,” recalled another old-timer.

In the first few years after Independence, vice-chancellors were chosen from among academics with a sound record. Patna University Teachers’ Association general secretary Randhir Kumar Singh said: “These persons were appointed as VCs of universities only after they had served as teachers for more than 20 to 25 years, which is not the case now.”

Among the education luminaries who were appointed vice-chancellors of Patna University are K.K. Dutta, Sachin Dutta, Dr Moiuddin, G.P. Sinha, Davendra Nath Sharma, S.P. Singh, R. Shukla and George Jacob.

The rut started with increasing political interference in the appointment of VCs. “In Bihar, the education sector started going backwards from 1967 after then education minister Karpoori Thakur introduced a policy that allowed students to pass without clearing English paper, which was a populist scheme aimed at pupils from rural background,” a senior teacher of the university said.

From the early nineties, a phase started when VCs were appointed on the backing of political bosses. Cases of huge financial irregularities were reported in VC appointments.

Last year there was an unprecedented row between the chancellor — the state governor — and the state government over the appointment of vice-chancellors of Magadh and Veer Kunwar Singh universities. Vice-chancellors to these universities were appointed by the chancellor without taking the state government into confidence.

The human resource development department did not recognise the new vice-chancellors appointed by the chancellor. The HRD department later issued a directive for seizure of all financial powers of the new VCs and the pro vice-chancellors of these universities were asked to function as VCs. The matter was settled after chief minister Nitish Kumar intervened.