Students of various colleges under Kolhan University will now be better-equipped to hone their skills in sports.

The 37th syndicate meeting of the university, which took place at its headquarters in Chaibasa on Wednesday, laid emphasis on procuring and installing accessories for aspiring sportspersons in colleges besides centralising the procurement process.

The university has decided to finalise a single sports dealer (through a tender) to cater to colleges across Kolhan. Earlier, this decision was taken by the colleges, often resulting in a price variation.

The three-hour meeting, led by vice-chancellor R.P.P. Singh, was attended by pro vice-chancellor Ranjit Kumar Singh and other university officials and syndicate members.

"We have often come across cases where jerseys or any other material of the same quality were brought at different prices. Therefore, the university decided that all the tenders will be floated by the university in accordance with the requirements of the colleges so that there is no difference in prices. We will also ask the colleges to upgrade and install sports accessories," A.K. Jha, proctor and spokesperson for Kolhan University, said.

The university has also decided to send directives to the colleges on having a sports in-charge and letting students play and practice round the year. The colleges will be asked to get the gears and accessories for practice. At present, special coaches are only appointed during inter-college or inter-university tournaments.

The meeting also approved Rs 6 lakh as the budget for the upcoming 4th Kolhan University Youth Festival to be hosted by Karim City College.

It has also approved the budget of vocational colleges for 2017-18. The duration of affiliation of private B.Ed colleges has been extended to three years.

"B.Ed colleges had to renew their affiliation every year. Since it involved a lot of paper work, the university has now extended the affiliation duration to three years," Jha said.

It has also been decided that post-graduate toppers can now be employed as assistant teachers for one year to gain experience and qualify for the National Eligibility Test (NET).

The students will be given a stipend of Rs 15,000. This was a Raj Bhawan directive that was approved at the syndicate meeting on Wednesday.