Nitish Kumar, while recalling his one year stay in the College, said that he used to attend the classes even after he got admitted in the Bihar College of Engineering. He sought the central university status for Patna University.

Nitish said that Patna University was one of the oldest universities of the country and had a glorious past. The Prime Minister had already assured that one university in each state would be made central university and the state government would like PU to get this status.

The chief minister, who studied in the Patna Science College for one year in 1966 before taking admission in Bihar College of Engineering now National Institute of Technology announced a grant of Rs one crore for the construction of a Gymnasium Hall and Conference Hall on the request of the principal, Prof S N Guha.

Four Padma Shree awardees, who in fact are the old-boys of the College, were honoured by the chief minister. They are Dr S N Arya, Dr C P Thakur, Dr Gopal Prasad Sinha and Dr Indu Bhushan Sinha. Apart from them two NRIs Dr B K Singh and Dr D P Tripathi and 14 ex-students, who are now above the age of 75 were honoured on the occasion.

The Union minister of state for agriculture, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, said the joy he got in getting admission in the Patna Sciene College was more than when he became the minister in the state cabinet or in the Manmohan Singh government.

Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi called for making Patna an educational hub a la Pune and Bangalore while his cabinet colleague and urban development minister, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, exhorted the alumni to contribute to the cause of poor and needy students of this college. There should be five awards for best students from donation from the alumni who had achieved a lot in different walks of life.

The new Vice Chancellor, Shyam Lal, who in fact comes from Rajasthan, said the gathering of so many luminaries only gives an idea of the golden past of the College. He appealed to the teachers to revive its past glory.

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