| PATNA: Even as the state government is reportedly keen on improving the condition of higher education in Bihar, very little has been done so far to stem the rot and bring the derailed system back on the right track. Higher education is still fragmented, scattered and takes place in 10 universities and over 1000 constituent and affiliated degree colleges, many of which are small and little better than high schools.
It is an irony that while there is an underutilization of existing infrastructure in many premier institutions, a number of colleges in different parts of the state are functioning in buildings meant for residential purposes. The entire college is made to function from just two to three small rooms. Besides, in some cases, more than one educational institution is made to run in a single building.
Libraries, an important aspect of higher education, are beyond the reach of common students. Laboratories are devoid of necessary scientific equipment and chemicals in most colleges. In some colleges, laboratory equipment are kept locked in cupboards and whenever the authorities feel like holding practical classes, a temporary laboratory is set up. Playground, health club, computer lab, canteen, common room etc seem a luxury for the students of many a college.
Any talk of academic reforms is meaningless when colleges are being starved of funds. Faculty positions are going empty, innovation is hindered, facilities are overcrowded and teaching-learning materials are outdated owing to paucity of adequate funds, says Federation of University Teachers' Associations of Bihar working president K B Sinha.
Even though the state government has initiated steps for timely release of salary grants to universities, the teachers and non-teaching staff of different universities and colleges are yet not receiving their salaries in time. The universities take their own time in disbursing the funds to their colleges, says a senior teacher of Shri Arvind Mahila College, a constituent unit of Magadh University.
Patna University Teachers' Association general secretary Anil Kumar feels that most undergraduate colleges have internalized the 'minimum levels of learning' approach that characterizes much of the orientation towards primary education.
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