The ‘draft statute for the appointment of assistant professors’, which has come mid-way through the ongoing controversial process on since 2020, continues to evoke sharp reactions from the aspirants as well as experts over apprehension of more room for arbitrariness and disputes.
JD(U) MLC Sanjiv Kumar Singh, in a letter to the secretariat of new Bihar Governor Lt Gen (Rtd) Syed Ata Hasnain, who was himself Chancellor of Central University of Kashmir, has written that when UGC-CSIR/NET already shortlisted candidates exclusively for Assistant Professors through a written test conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) at the national level on the yardsticks laid down by the UGC, there was no point holding another state-level descriptive-type test.
“The statute committee proposal for a state-level competition appears ridiculous and objectionable, as it is akin to UPSC qualified candidates being asked to take BPSC for the same post. Besides, the provision of a descriptive type test seems to be an open invitation to organised corruption, as it will dilute even an iota of transparency and trust in the system,” he said.
Singh, who got elected from Kosi Teachers’ Constituency, has further cited the 2016 UGC regulation for PhD, which has been approved by the Lok Bhawan. “Ph.D is a full-time course requiring 75% attendance. The weightage to good academic record, high category institutions and quality Ph.D as per norms have also been ignored in the draft statute. Now, the expert committee cites the 2022 UGC regulation, which has not been implemented in any university. During the 2015 appointment, 2009 UGC regulation had not been implemented in universities and that had also barred many Bihar aspirant and later in 2020 it was diluted,” he added, questioning the provision of 20% weightage to interview, which raised several questions during the ongoing process.
The MLC said the lack of provision of domicile policy was also strange, as it would ignore the interest of state’s aspirants. “In the past recruitment, the aspirants as well as the students had to suffer due to controversies, litigations and poor quality intake. Therefore, there is need to do away with the draft statute and get a new one developed by taking the views of all the stakeholders and acclaimed experts,” he wrote.
Former vice chancellor of Mata Vaishno Devi University, Jammu and Nalanda Open University RK Sinha, who was conferred Padma Shri for his extensive research on Ganga Dolphins, said that for quality intake, the system would have to be transparent. “The system should not only be clean, but also appear to be so, which has been lacking in Bihar,” he added.
He said that the after the national-level test, which shortlists candidates exclusively for assistant professor, there is no relevance for any duplication of the exam at the state level, as that would not assure improved quality; rather only centralise the process.
“The descriptive test will be sham. Instead, the focus should be on the teaching skills during interview, which can look into both knowledge and expression. Any student can be asked to deliver a brief lecture on any topic and that can also be video recorded. The academic record of the candidates, the institution they have studied in, the quality of institutions and research papers etc. are some of the things that can be transparently taken into account, but ultimately the big question is if quality intake is focus or other considerations,” he added.
In Jai Prakash University, the students also organised protest against the draft statute and also had arguments with the VC PK Bajpai, who was the convenor of the committee that formed the draft statute. “We have formed the draft statute and whatever suggestions and objections come, that would be presented before the committee. I have already met the Governor, education minister and others concerned and suggested that all the emerging points be discussed in the interest of Bihar candidates,” he assured the agitating aspirants.
While the drama over the draft statute has unfolded in the state for future appointments, the reality is that the ongoing recruitment since 2020 is yet to be concluded, as hundreds of cases are pending before the Patna High Court against it. The court intervened several times during the process and many controversies still remain unresolved.
“The move to start a new process may be a ploy to distract attention from the mess the ongoing process landed into. The candidates of Political Science are yet to join in some universities even nine months after the results, while in some subjects the results are held up. The government should first try to clean the mess, learn its lessons, do the necessary, honest changes and then move ahead with fresh process, else it will add to more mess. Getting a statute made hurriedly to paper over the past controversies should not be the objective,” said former head at Patna University NK Choudhary.
Former VC at BN Mandal University AK Roy, who was part of the statute committee in 2020, said quality research and Ph.D should not be done away with for college teaching and the aspirants should not be penalised for the failure of the state institutions to usher in timely reforms.
“Even the National Education Policy (NEP) lays emphasis on it. There is no need for a written test, especially when CSIR/UGC-NET already shortlists 6% of the candidates for assistant professor. PM Usha programme of the Centre is meant for capacity building of teachers for better research at the university level. Just by making new statute the problem cannot be solved, as it will add to more chaos. Higher education is different from school education and that needs to be understood,” he added.
