Bihar’s case personifies this confusion well. While Bihar is making headlines for better reasons now, there is still a glaring lacuna in the precariously balanced growth act of the state. The state government is vehemently pushing the cause of primary and secondary education, with a slew of progressive schemes whose benefits cannot be denied: scholarship money, fund for school uniforms, free bicycles an so on. The common man, casting his inherent cynicism aside, has grudgingly come to approve and even admire these efforts in the area of school education. Not only have they resulted in higher enrolment rates, these innovative schemes have also raised awareness about the importance of education among the rural masses and deprived sections of society.
But the higher education scenario in the state is still crying out to be bettered. Bihar once used to be a seat of learning with Nalanda and Vikramshila universities attracting students from far and wide. Ironically, that same Bihar does not have a proper system of higher education today. Colleges and universities of the state are generally in the news for all the wrong reasons, be it the impending showdown between Raj Bhawan and the state government or the frequent protests, agitation and hunger strikes by the students and faculty. According to S I Ahson, pro VC of Patna University, it is very unfortunate that the appointment of VCs in Bihar has become mired in controversies. “It is a sad affair that the VCs chair has been dragged into such a controversy. It is our collective responsibility; I cannot blame any specific quarter or individual for failing to uphold the sanctity of this high position,” he adds.
To add to these woes, there is the lackadaisical attitude of the teachers and an acute shortage of well-qualified technical staff. The under-funded laboratories, libraries and classrooms stymie any interest in research studies that students might have shown had things been otherwise. IT infrastructure is virtually non-existent in these colleges and universities, with only a broadband connection to show for (which is down and non-functioning for most of the days in a month) in the name of IT.
“A lot of positive steps have been taken by the state government, like establishment of new institutes and universities. But this is just the initial effort. A lot still needs to be done,” says Ahson. Faculty crunch is a major deterrent to quality education, he points out, and adds, “Patna University is running with less than 50% faculty; of around 1000 sanctioned posts only 400 teachers are on the job.”
Where technical and professional education is concerned, things are as gloomy as ever. While many medical colleges face the threat of de-recognition by the MCI, others are found sadly lacking in infrastructure, surgical equipments and machines. Many of the courses in engineering colleges are yet to be accredited.
Janak Pandey, VC of Central University of Bihar, attributes the constant breakdown in higher education to thoughtless planning. “When the present system does not give satisfactory results, people come up with different ideas. But it’s imperative to note that there’s no makeshift arrangement in education,” he says. According to him, quality faculty and infrastructure are essential components of quality higher education. “Every stage of education is organically related; one cannot separate primary, secondary and higher education as each of these stages define the next one. So it’s time we expanded the scope of our approach to higher education,” he adds.
The government, on its part, has tried to make a beginning in the area of higher education by setting up institutes and universities like Chandragupt Institute of Management Patna and Chanakya National Law University. Both of them, established around two years back, have shown potential and promising results. Other branches and extensions of national-level institutes, like IIT, BIT and NIFT, too have cropped up in Bihar. But then again, the older institutes and universities are in a state of neglect and need focused reforms to break their mould and emerge as assets for the state. The exams in universities are still not regulated, and consequently, subjected to annoying delays even as the campus placement in colleges are negligible. All the universities have been instructed to adopt the semester pattern by the UGC but here too, there are unnecessary delays. The reasons cited for the inability to implement the semester pattern vary from lack of qualified staff to dearth of funds and infrastructure. “We have received UGC’s directives which are aimed at increasing the access to higher education and improving the infrastructure. It has also sent a circular containing the minimum standard for admission into PhD. These directives, though essential for improving the quality of education, require sweeping changes and we are working over them,” Ahson reveals.
Surely, the time has come to repair the fractured higher education system in Bihar. With a deplorable gross enrolment rate (GER), Bihar has an arduous journey uphill to emerge on the national map. “The GER of India is 12%, whereas it stands at 27% for China. But more than these numbers, we need to concentrate on improving the quality of higher education; the numbers would follow automatically,” Pandey says. What is needed, more than paper reforms and cumbersome policies, is undivided attention and relentless effort in chalking out achievable improvements and implementing progressive changes. Like Pandey points out, quality education as well as quality education providers, both are essential for bringing clarity and giving a sense of direction to higher education in the state. With so many maladies plaguing the higher education system in Bihar, the students are truly at a crossroads. It’s time to remove their predicament and show them the right way.
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