What do you expect from the students who took admission in two-year PG course (2019-21 session) doing now? Waiting for the Final Results and preparing for the Convocation Speech! Well, students at Magadh University, Bodh Gaya, Bihar, are still awaiting the date for their First Semester Examination, and there is no clarity when it will be held. This is shocking, but true! You might be thinking, it’s because of Covid-19 pandemic. It might be partly true, but delays in academic sessions have been a regular affair at Magadh University and most of the other universities in Bihar.  

It has become almost a routine that three-year under-graduate course takes four to six years while two-year Post Graduate (PG) courses take around three to four years, often even more. This has been going on not just for few years, but decades now. Most of the universities don’t follow any fixed academic calendar, be it pandemic or no pandemic. Perhaps, only Patna University seems to follow academic calendar and conduct examinations in time. However, there are exceptions.   

Inordinate delays and uncertainties are taking a toll on the students’ future. Students have not able to plan their career.

BiharConnect spoke to several students to understand their challenges. Most of them expressed anguish and looked uncertain about their future. Once they get admission in the universities in Bihar there is no certainty when the course will be completed. Some candidate apply for job as a appearing candidate, expecting that the result will be in their hand by a particular date. Some of them have been successful in getting selected in the competitive exams like BPSC and SSC, but could not join because of not being able to get the university degree in time.

The admission process for 2019-21 session started in February 2020. It took almost a year to complete the admission process and the class started from December 2020. Until June 2021 there is no clarity on when the first semester examination will be conducted.

Students’ Future in Dark

Rajshree has enrolled herself in 2019-21 session of Master of Arts (M.A.) in PG Department of English, Magadh University. But she has not yet appeared for her first semester exam. “This is really depressing. I have not been able to appear even for a single exam. Though ideally I should have graduated by this time of the year,” she said.

Rajshree said her decision to do post-graduation from Magadh University was proving to be a big detriment to her career. “After completing my graduation I got job with Oberoi Group of hotel. I worked there for some time and then I decided to pursue higher education thinking that it will be helpful in my career progression. I thought I will be able to complete my Post Graduation in two years and then restart my job or pursue academic career.”

“I recently had to give away a good opportunity that came my way, all because I cannot commit myself to a job which clashes with the time table of the University. I am in a state of complete chaos and confusion about my future and career, and not because I find myself incapable, but because my university chose to mock my entire career plan and in a way even my existence,”

Rajshree, student, PG Department of English, Magadh University.

“I recently had to give away a good opportunity that came my way, all because I cannot commit myself to a job which clashes with the time table of the University. I am in a state of complete chaos and confusion about my future and career, and not because I find myself incapable, but because my university chose to mock my entire career plan and in a way even my existence,” she said.

“My mental and physical well-being have been deeply affected by these concerns, since these malpractices have left me devastated,” Rajshree said expressing anguish over the university management.

Supriya Kumari, another student of Magadh University enrolled in the PG Department of English, expressed anguish over the attitude of the university management. “It’s frustrating. There is no communication or assurance from the management. We are all in the dark.”

“My dream is to become professor. I want to do PhD and join academics. This year I should have appeared for UGC-NET exam, but I won’t be able to do it because of the delay in session. There is no certainty when I will be able to do my PG,” Supriya added.

“My dream is to become professor. I want to do PhD and join academics. This year I should have appeared for UGC-NET exam, but I won’t be able to do it because of the delay in session. There is no certainty when I will be able to do my PG,”

Supriya Kumari, student, PG Department of English, Magadh University.

Pritam Saxena, a student from Pawapuri, Nalanda, said the delay in session has shattered her career plans. “I took admission in PG after completing my B.Ed. My plan was to do M.Ed. in 2021-23 session after completing M.A. in English. There is no clarity when I will be able to complete my M.A. Everything is in the dark now.”

Aanchal Shree, a student from Sikkim, pursuing PG from Magadh University, said there is no clarity or communication from the university regarding the examination schedule. “I am from Sikkim. I was doing teaching here. So decided to do my PG from here. There is no academic calendar. Nobody is giving any information on when the exam will be held.”

This is not happening now. This has been the trend at the Magadh University for years.

Higher education in Bihar is in shambles. This is in a stark contrast with the state’s glorious past. Bihar’s achievements in higher education in the past led by the universities like Nalanda, Vikramshila and Udantpuri, used to be an envy of the rest of the world. In the past students and scholars from across the world used to scramble to get admission in the universities in Bihar. Today, the students from Bihar scramble to get admission outside. Even more painful is to see the condition of the students who are enrolled in the universities in Bihar.

Most of the students BiharConnect spoke to have little expectations on the things like the quality of education, campus environment and placements. Their bare minimum expectation is ‘examination being held on time.’

“We are doing studies on our own. Most of us are doing self-study. Some are doing coaching. Our main expectation from the university is the exam,”

Sukesh Kumar, student

“We are doing studies on our own. Most of us are doing self-study. Some are doing coaching. Our main expectation from the university is the exam,” said Sukesh Kumar.

“This is not just the case of 2019-21 session. Even the 2018-20 session is not complete. This shows the poor condition of the system,” said Abhishek Kumar Verma, a student at Magadh University.

“My Sister is in 2017-19 session but her fourth semester exam is not complete yet. It’s more than four years and she has not been able to complete her PG. So it won’t be correct to say that the delay in session is due to Covid,” said Supriya Kumari.

“Our syllabus has not been completed. There is no clarity on examination. We are in the dark,” said Rahul Kumar, another student at the university.

The admission process for 2019-21 session started in February 2020. It took almost a year to complete the admission process and the class started from December 2020. Until June 2021 there is no clarity on when the first semester examination will be conducted. It’s not just the examination. Other processes of the university is also plagued with irregularities and red-tapism.

Fraudulent Practice

As the universities hardly follow any academic calendar, often the result date mentioned in the certificates is different from the actual date. For example, the results for 2016-19 under-graduate course of Magadh University was published in December 2019. But the university has mentioned September 2019 as the result published date.

Some universities and employers consider the students whose results are awaited. Suppose you got a job and you mentioned your employer that your result is awaited. You are supposed to submit your result as soon as published.

“I told my employer that my result is awaited, but in the certificate that I got it was mentioned that the result was published in September 2019. But actually we got the result in December 2019. We have been proven fraudulent,” said Rajshree.

Career of several students have been affected due to such practice of the university. It creates gaps in the academic career of the students. Such gaps have huge negative impact on the future career prospects of the students. Many universities simply don’t consider the application from such students who have gaps. Same is the case with most of the big employers.

2 year exams in 3 months

In the name of regularising the sessions the universities have started taking measures which exposes the deep malice in the system. Take the example of 2016-19 batch under-graduate course of Magadh University. The three-year undergraduate course is divided in three parts – one part to be completed in one year. For the students who took admission in 2016 the first part exam was conducted in January 2018 and the gap between the second and the third part exam was just three months. So all three parts exam was conducted within one year.

History of Irregular Academic Sessions

Most of the universities in Bihar have a history of irregular academic sessions. At Magadh University both under-graduate and post-graduate courses are running two to three years late. At JP University, Chhapra, the under-graduate courses are running three years late. At Veer Kuer Singh University, Ara, the course are running two to three years late. At Bhim Rao Ambedkar Bihar University, most of the course are running late by a couple of years. This is the condition of the universities in Bihar despite the efforts of Nitish Kumar-led government to streamline the university education.

Bifurcation of Universities

Burden of students is often cited as the main reason for the delays in academic sessions. With a view to reduce burden and ensure better management the state government has bifurcated several universities.

A part of Magadh University has been bifurcated and made a separate university called Patliputra University. Tilka Manjhi University, Bhagalpur, has been bifurcated into two. The new university is named Munger University. Purnea University has been carved out of BN Mandal University,  Madhepura.

A part of Magadh University has been bifurcated and made a separate university called Patliputra University. Tilka Manjhi University, Bhagalpur, has been bifurcated into two. The new university is named Munger University. Purnea University has been carved out of BN Mandal University,  Madhepura.

The rationale behind bifurcation of the universities is that smaller universities will help in better administration and thus the academic calendar can be regularised.

“When the university got bifurcated we became hopeful that the exams would be conducted on time. But nothing seems to be changing on the ground as far as the academic calendar is concerned,” said Sukesh Kumar, a student at Magadh University.  

Enrolment Ratio

The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for higher education in Bihar is the lowest in the country. As per the latest edition of the All India Higher Education Survey, released in 2019, Bihar’s GER stands at 13.6 per cent. This means for every 100 youth in the age group of 18 to 23 years, only 13 are pursuing higher education in Bihar. The condition of women is even worse. The enrolment ratio for women stands at 12 per cent as against 15 per cent for men. The Gross Enrolment Ratio in Bihar is almost half that of India. GER in higher education in India stands at 26.3 per cent.

The National Education Policy, 2020 has set a target to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to 50 per cent by 2035. This looks a daunting task for Bihar where the enrolment ratio stands at just 13.6 per cent.

Recommendations

The condition of Bihar’s higher education system is alarming. It is ailing at multiple fronts and need systemic reforms. Here are a few recommendations that need to be implemented on a priority basis to improve the condition of higher education in the state.

Fix Academic Calendar

The government must make it mandatory for all the universities to have a fixed Academic Calendar. All the universities in the state should have similar academic session. The Academic Calendar should be aligned with the national academic year, especially the CBSE and other board results.

Two-semester calendar

The academic calendar could be a mix of two-semester calendar and year-long calendar. For technical and professional courses two-semester calendar needs to be maintained. For general academic courses year-long calendar would be useful.

Two-semester academic calendar gives a lot of flexibility. Students have the option to take the admission twice. One session should start from July and the other from January. Candidates aiming for professional and technical courses need more flexibility. It would also help in increasing the enrolment. Universities and colleges can take admission twice a year, i.e. at the beginning of each semester. This would be particularly helpful for poor marginalised candidates. Due to lack of money or other compulsions if they miss the opportunity of taking the admission in one semester, they would have the option of taking the admission in another semester.

Fix the Accountability

There has been a clear lack of accountability in the university management. Patna High Court has expressed anguish over the delay in academic sessions several times. Things have improved a bit in the recent years, but the condition on the ground is still far from satisfactory.

Accountability need to be fixed from the top to the bottom. Once there is a fixed academic calendar, the admissions, classes and examinations need to be conducted in a timely manner. If there is any delay accountability need to be fixed for it. Who is responsible for the delay? Is it the university administration or the state government? Certain officials need to be made accountable for it. If there is a delay due to any particular official slackness he/she must pay the price for the delay.

Universities already have designated officials for admissions and examinations. But they don’t seem to be made accountable.

There could be a designated official to monitor academic sessions at the university level and also at the state level. If a particular university or institution is not adhering to the prescribed time frame it needs to be given exemplary punishment.

Digital Monitoring

All universities must deploy ERP system for effective monitoring and delivery of quality services in a transparent manner. There is need to implement biometric attendance system for students, teachers as well as other staff. Progress on classes and other academic activities could be monitored effectively through the digital process.

Learning Quality

Special attention should be given to improve the quality of learning. The concerns of the students should be learning outcomes and not the academic sessions as has been the case with students of most of the universities for the past several decades.