4-yr degree programme under CBSC ‘not immediately possible’: Bihar edu minister

Bihar education minister Chandrashekhar on Saturday categorically said that four-year bachelor’s degree courses under the choice-based credit system (CBCS), for which the Raj Bhawan had moved ahead with ordinance and statute in consultation with vice-chancellors of the state universities, was not immediately possible under prevailing circumstances.

Speaking at a meeting with the VCs, registrars and principals of universities, Chandrashekhar reiterated what his department’s additional chief secretary KK Pathak had written to the officer on special duty (judicial), governor’s secretariat, Shailendra Shukla on June 15 last.

On Thursday, Pathak had written to the governor’s secretariat, with a copy to all the university vice-chancellors, seeking reconsideration of the governor’s letter for the launching of “four-year graduation programme under the CBCS” stating that the Bihar government does not support the aforementioned.

Currently, most colleges in the state are running three-year degree courses.

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There has been no response from Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on the matter so far, though a senior Raj Bhawan official said that he might directly talk to chief minister Nitish Kumar in this regard, as the move was aimed at aligning Bihar institutions with the rest of the country and modern needs.

Further, the education minister asked if Bihar was ready for the New Education Policy (NEP). “Change in the field of education is very necessary, but it cannot be seen in isolation. It needs to be constructive and should not end up isolating the poor. What is more important is to see whether its benefits are comprehensive or not. In the present context, especially when our universities are plagued with late sessions and the students also time and again object to it, as it affects their career prospects,” he said.

He stated that Bihar “lacked the desired infrastructure, including classrooms and labs, and adequate strength of teachers and non-teaching staff to implement CBCS”.

“The state has already spent one-fourth of its budget on education and any further increase in it does not seem possible in the near future,” he added.

Chandrashekhar added that it was important to address key concerns related to the NEP and if our society was mentally ready for it.

“The flexibility of choosing subjects of different streams by students also requires a lot of planning and thinking, as it will affect their future growth. The students as well as those involved with the process need to be mentally prepared for the change and it will require time,” he said.

He continued that in a welfare state, it is the duty of the government to make education accessible to all sections of society and provide adequate opportunities to the talented ones from the poorest sections.

“If any change adversely affects the poor, it needs to be addressed. This is precisely why the ACS wrote to the Raj Bhawan for a rethink on the 4-year graduation programme,” he added.

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Some principals and VCs also advocated the three-year degree course, as conducting three exams in three years was itself proving difficult due to the shortage of teachers and leading to delays.

State higher education council (SHEC) chairman Kameshwar Jha, NK Agrawal and department officials were present on the occasion.

“Conducting eight exams will be all the more challenging and could cause more delays. There are already exam backlogs. The fee structure will also shoot up under the new system,” they said, underling the need to create more posts of teachers and non-teaching staff and development of proper infrastructure.

Directing the varsity officials to clear all backlog of exams at the earliest, the state education minister assured them that he will get in touch with the higher education directorate for filling up all vacancies.

Governor Arlekar, who is also the chancellor of state universities, had approved the Ordinance and Regulations for the Bachelor of Arts/Science/Commerce (Honours) 4-year programme under CBCS as per University Grant Commission (UGC) Regulation (Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programmes).