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(BiharTimes) Higher education in Bihar has been in doldrums for quite some time now. Degeneration started somewhere in the early days of the decade of 1970. It assumed serious proportions towards the later part of eighties and lost its relevance completely during nineties. People learn from the mistakes but that does not seem to be the case in Bihar. It happens elsewhere that seeds of greatest transformation germinate in the absolute degeneration, but Bihar somehow continues to be an exception. When NDA dispensation took charge of the state in 2005, there were great expectations all around. Seeds of possible revival in higher education were sown during the brief president rule of 2005 when BIT Mesra was roped in to start its Patna campus. Advent of new dispensation saw a flurry of activity on this front giving rise to new hope.
 
A crucial time for this sector has been the year 2006-07.  Education department under late Dr Madan Mohan Jha saw a revival of kind. By the year 2007, mantle of science & technology department of the state had passed into the hands of Mr Ajay Kumar. Mr Kumar has just returned from a central stint as Joint Secretary of Science & Technology department. During this period, Dr. Jha had already started making waves with revolutionary changes in elementary education in Bihar. He laid down ground for some good institutions for higher education which have become realities now. However, by his own admission, Dr Jha had his priority for elementary education, and rightly so. When confronted with a demand on higher education front, Dr. Jha commented “I am not well versed in the politics of higher education but do understand a bit of elementary education”. That is where he was devoting his time and perhaps challenges associated with that sector took its toll on his health as well. Such has been his singular devotion to elementary education! Even then, he promptly took some lasting action on higher education front as well.
 
Mr Ajay Kumar on the other hand started out with a well architected vision on Science & Technology as can be seen in the presentations on the departments website. And yes, he appeared to have shown tremendous devotion to the task at hand.  Started out by leveraged his contacts developed during his stewardship at federal S&T department.  He then quickly put up a plan for each of the emerging sectors like Biotechnology, Nanotechnology and so on. Soon followed up with a road map for IT sector and started work on Aryabhatt Professional University and Translational Research Institute as well.   A proposal was then forwarded to Federal government demanding an IISER through the CM.  He made out a strong case for more central institutions through a comprehensive comparative analysis between various states. On his part, he came up with a plan for revamping the existing engineering colleges and setting up a number of new ones. A proposal was accordingly moved to union Finance Ministry for either federal funding or funding through multilateral funding agencies. During his tenure an effort was made to start Bihar Science Conference. But then this became the very reason for his departure as the NGO spearheading this conference had invited Dr. A P J Kalam. Though S&T department was just a sponsoring agency, secretary was held responsible for the violation of protocol. While Dr Kalam’s visit was cancelled by sending a special emissary, CM himself inaugurated the opening chapter. The person who lent helping hand in organizing this event which has now become an annual feature, was left high and dry as he was unceremoniously shunted out. And indeed, Dr A PJ Kalam graced one of the subsequent editions of this annual conference again at the initiative of concerned NGO.  Somehow, Mr. Nitish Kumar’s knee jerk reaction abruptly ended up what could have ushered a new chapter in technical & professional education in the state. 
 
Out of the six new engineering colleges planned only four could take shape during his immediate successor’s period. Other two at Madhepura and Begusarai are still going through the endless waiting game. Later on another college at Sitamarhi was also added at the behest of the new minister but is yet to become a reality. It is quite bewildering that a large area like Shahabad region and Saran region are even now bereft of any central government or state government institution.  Places like Nabinagar, Marhaura, Munger, Barauni and Sasaram, which can industrially prosper with the help of engineering institutes have to go without it till now.
 
 
Nonetheless contribution of present government can not be underrated as it has got three good institutes of excellence and four new engineering colleges to show at the end of its tenure. Even now Bihar has in principle approval of around Rs. 80 crores under IIPDF for setting up 10 degree level engineering colleges. Only that of late things has not kept the pace on delivery front. Point here is that Bihar has certain officers who could have ensured much better outcome had they been allowed to have their way in these matters by ignoring their smaller follies. The recent controversy surrounding Mr K K Pathak, I see a distinct possibility of Bihar losing services of a quality, no-nonsense IAS officer.  Mr. Nitish Kumar has more or less delivered; however, I see his biggest failure in underutilizing some of the most capable officers. Nothing could be more glaring than sidelining Mr Abhayanad. Sometimes, I sincerely felt that CM could have delivered much better and on even bigger scale had he helped build a bigger capable workforce than relying on the limited few. Good leaders are known by the size and capability of their teams.
 
A bigger botheration is, however, the treatment meted out by the central government to Bihar. It keeps on setting up central institutes in states like West Bengal year after year, but has not bothered for Bihar. This has been the case in spite of the fact that Bihar sees large scale migration year after year in pursuit of technical and professional education. For example, central government has not only accorded Shibpur engineering college the status of Institute of excellence, but it has also set up another central institute in the name of Dr ABA Ghani Khan Chaudhary at Malda.  It has further set up an IISER and also an IIFT at Kolkata. This is the case when Kolkata already has a plethora of such institutes, including ISI, IIMs etc. Even on medical education side, West Bengal has got an upgraded institute to the level of AIIMS and is further on way to get a new AIIMS like institute. At the same time, if Ms. Mamata Banerjee has her way she will be setting up three more medical colleges in west Bengal from railways resources. This comparison is not to mean any affront to the people of West Bengal, but to demonstrate how Bihar is being marginalized.  If we compare Bihar with any other state, more or less same story is repeated.  Bihar may be the second largest state in terms of population yet it is educationally and economically the most marginalized one.
 
What complicates the matter even further is that the emails to leaders from Bihar do not elicit any response at all. Be it emails for setting up a National Institute of Food Technology and Entrepreneurship Management to Mr Subodh Kant Sahay or similar emails to Mrs. Meera Kumar, Hon’ble Speaker Lok Sabha for setting up an engineering and medical college. She inherits the legacy of her late father but does not care to set up institutes at his place of birth under the central sector on the lines of institutes set up to commemorate Dr. ABA Ghani Khan Chaudhary or Sant longowal. After all, entire Shahabad Region which is of the size of a small state by itself does not have an engineering college or a government medical college till now. Story is same on the other side of Gangese in Saran region. Earlier also Mr. Premchand Gupta an RJD MP from Bihar favored Gurgaon while setting up an Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs,  even when request was made to set up the same somewhere in Bihar.
 
Coming to year 2010, when a favourable condition existed for revival of higher education, state government, central government and politicians of all hues from Bihar have through their act of omission and commission ensured that state does not have much to show. In the meanwhile, large scale migration in pursuit of higher education continues unabated from the state at the end of the eventful five year period.                                     

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Thanks, nice article. Higher education in India, particularly in Bihar was always considered an extravagance for the “hopeless hoard” of people. Even today, despite bidding for higher educational institutes, Bihar and Biharis are not ready to share the burden of higher educational institutes and their products. That is why you can’t find a proportionate number of students from Bihar in the field of higher education seeking advanced degrees. Look at the demography of the recently opened “Indian Institute of Technology” in Patna, there is hardly any faculty who hails from Bihar. What does it mean? The people of Bihar as well as Government of Bihar do not really understand the need of higher education in terms of technological advancement with respect to economic development, and so are their citizens. Superficial political and social systems never invoke Government and her inhabitant to even think of or promote something above the regular degrees B.Tech/MBBS/B.A./B.Sc/B.Com/M.A/M.Sc./M.Com. We are all culprits of euthanizing the higher education in Bihar and distributing Ph.D. degrees at throw-away prices and prejudices.
Bihar does not need any higher educational institutions at this stage, even IIT Patna or Central University or NIPER or IISER or Nalanda International University (NIU). There is no local support system involved for these institutions, the way IIT Guwahati grew in Assam. Both political and social will-powers are needed to run these institutions without any interruption or delay in terms of land acquisition to extra-mural supports. Are we cooperating at social front, forget about the political system? Do not blame central Government, state universities of TamilNadu/West Bengal/ other states perform at par with many institutes of national reputes. Are we making similar, serious effort socially as well as politically in this directions?

Sudhir Ranjan, USA