Bihar Governor to chair varsity Senate meeting on March 14
This will be the first time the Governor, in the capacity of Chancellor, will chair the annual Senate meeting of any university in recent decades and the university has started preparations for it.
PATNA: Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar is set to revive the old tradition of chairing the Senate meeting of the universities, starting with the Jai Prakash University (Chapra) on March 14, people aware of the development said.
This will be the first time the Governor, in the capacity of Chancellor, will chair the annual Senate meeting of any university in recent decades and the university has started preparations for it.
According to people aware of the development, Achlekar is also scheduled to chair the Senate meeting of Purnea University.
The Governor is also the Chancellor and, by virtue of his office, heads the university. He is the president of the Senate and, when present, presides at meeting of the Senate, and at any convocation of the University. However, while Governors have been presiding over the convocations, they seldom chaired the Senate meeting.
JPU registrar Ravi Prakash Babloo said that usually the VC, as the nominee of the Chancellor, presides over the meeting. “This time, the Governor is reviving the tradition from JPU and it is a big moment for the institution. The annual budget and other related issues are usually on the Senate agenda,” Prakash said.
The move of the Governor is significant, as most of Bihar’s state universities have been grappling with serious issues related to the delayed academic session, pending exams, erratic classes, lower quality research, the pendency of utilization Certificates etc.
Many universities have also been involved in corruption matters. Being the Chancellor of universities, the blame for the problems is also shifted on the Raj Bhawan. Now, Achlekar’s attempt is to break from the past.
On March 11, Achlekar had given a stern message by restraining all registrars appointed or shifted through orders dated February 13 and 15, i.e. after the President appointed new Governors on February 12, from discharging their duties. He also restrained the financial advisor and finance officer of Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University from discharging their duty with immediate effect.
A senior official of the Raj Bhawan said that the Governor would review each University separately to deal with the issues confronting them in a time-bound manner by fixing accountability. Chairing senate meetings is just the beginning, the visit may also be for a firsthand experience of the status, he said.
