A high-level meeting on higher education reforms was held at Lok Bhawan on Friday under the chairmanship of Governor-Chancellor Syed Ata Hasnain. The meeting focused on improving academic quality, strengthening administration, promoting research and accelerating digital reforms in Bihar universities.Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Higher Education Minister Sanjay Singh also participated in the discussions.One of the major decisions taken during the meeting was the proposal to draft a new university law for Bihar.Officials said the proposed legislation would incorporate best practices from central universities and universities in other states.The proposed framework is prepared after a review of university laws in 15 states, to create a simpler, more transparent and contemporary regulatory system for higher education institutions in Bihar.To encourage research and innovation, consensus has been reached on several new initiatives, including the Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Prime Minister’s Research Grant Scheme, and the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship Scheme.These proposals aim to strengthen the research culture and provide financial support to scholars and researchers.The meeting reviewed the implementation of the Samarth digital platform in the state universities.Admissions are already done through the portal.The governor ordered the university to implement all 26 modules of the Samarth system by December 31, 2026.These modules cover admissions, academic management, employee services, finance and accounts, and administrative functions.The move is aimed at improving transparency, efficiency and digital governance.The officials informed the meeting that a centralized recruitment process has been adopted for contractual assistant professors in 211 newly established government degree colleges.The aim is to ensure merit-based selection of qualified teachers and to improve academic standards in higher education institutions.The government plans to make faculty development mandatory.Each higher education institution will be required to organize at least one Faculty development program per year.The teacher training centers established under the Madan Mohan Malaviya Teacher Training Scheme in Patna and Muzaffarpur universities are also being strengthened.The meeting reviewed the efforts to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in the universities of Bihar.Officials said that academic programs have been redesigned in accordance with national standards, and programs for 43 postgraduate subjects are expected to receive approval from the first week of July.The implementation of digital initiatives such as INFLIBNET, APAAR and the National Academic Deposit is also regularly monitored.The meeting discussed the timings for transfers and promotions of university teachers and staff.It was decided that routine transfers would normally only take place in June.Transfers outside the designated period require exceptional circumstances and prior approval by the Chancellor.The policy aims to ensure administrative discipline and regularity.A proposal was also discussed to establish a dedicated Chancellor’s Library for researchers and teachers.The proposed facility provides access to research materials, academic resources and reference collections.Governor Syed Ata Hasnain observed that coordinated implementation of these measures would significantly strengthen transparency, accountability, digital governance, academic quality and student-centric administration in Bihar universities.The meeting was attended by senior officials including Additional Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Deepak Kumar, Secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh, Director of Higher Education Prof. NK Agrawal, and officials of the Raj Bhavan Secretariat.
