The Bihar government has constituted a high-level committee to examine the existing recruitment system for assistant professors in state universities and recommend comprehensive reforms. The panel will review several aspects of the selection process, with the aim of suggesting changes to make faculty recruitment more effective and responsive to the concerns of applicants and researchers.
The committee includes retired IAS officers Amarjit Sinha and Sanjay Kumar, along with noted physicist and Padma Shri awardee Prof H C Verma and other members. Sanjay Kumar, Additional Secretary (University) in the Governor’s Secretariat, will serve as the member secretary of the committee.
Panel to Examine Age, Eligibility and Selection Process
The committee has been tasked with examining important components of assistant professor recruitment, including the upper age limit, eligibility criteria, examination pattern, interview process and the relative weightage given to different selection parameters. It will also look into issues concerning guest faculty and other aspects linked to the recruitment system.
The panel has been directed to submit its findings along with specific and actionable recommendations to the Lok Bhawan within 90 days. Its recommendations could potentially influence the recruitment framework followed by state universities in Bihar.
Move Follows Protests by PhD Holders and Researchers
The formation of the committee comes after an agreement reached on August 24 between the Governor and representatives of the All PhD Holders and Researchers Association. Members of the association had staged a three-week protest at Gardani Bagh in Patna, with several participants also joining hunger strikes.
Among their key demands was an increase in the maximum age limit for appointment as assistant professor to 55 years. The protesters also sought recruitment through objective-type written examinations, arguing for changes in the existing selection mechanism.
Following discussions with the protesting representatives, the Governor had assured them that a committee comprising educationists and administrators would be constituted to examine their demands and suggest reforms.
The new panel is therefore expected to play an important role in determining how Bihar approaches future assistant professor recruitment, particularly in areas such as eligibility, assessment, interviews and transparency in the selection process.
