By Dr Mumtaz Naiyer
Last year I was on a short trip to India. I had received an invitation to deliver a lecture in Central University of Bihar (Now Central University of South Bihar) at their Patna Campus. Although my itinerary was very short and tight and was confined to Delhi only, I accepted the invitation. It was an opportunity for me to visit my home state and to realize the dreams I have set long before i.e. to interact with students, research scholars and the esteemed faculties there and exchange the ideas of west and east. The response was amazing. The lecture theatre with the capacity of around 200 people was completely full. The talk was part of their weekly seminar and organized by “Centre for Biological Sciences” on December 1, 2014.
I was enthralled with the response of the students and research scholars and their quest for knowledge was remarkable. It was kind of a lifetime experience for me and a great learning experience too. Nevertheless the Varsity was without a vice chancellor. Recently, I read news in ‘The Telegraph’ which reports that the post of permanent VC at the university has remained vacant for more than one and a half years. Adding to its administrative woes, the registrar also resigned on May 29.
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Let me tell you contemporary Bihar has a grossly inadequate educational infrastructure creating a colossal mismatch between demand and supply. The yearning for higher education among the general population of Bihar has led to a substantial migration of the student community from the state and Bihar tends to lose substantial exchequer every year. Nevertheless for those who can’t afford quality higher education in Indian metropolitan cities, Central University of South Bihar is like a lifeline for them which was established under the Central Universities Act, 2009 (Section 25 of 2009) as Central University of Bihar (CUB) and the name since changed by the Central Universities (Amendment) Act, 2014 to Central University of South Bihar (CUSB). The University did not see much progress in infrastructure work after the retirement of its vice chancellor Janak Pandey. Moreover, the new IIT in Patna is without a director since June 2014.
It’s very painful to see the apathy of HRD minister Smriti Irani towards a backward state like Bihar which requires urgent attention especially in the infrastructure development related to higher education. Nevertheless, she has been mired in controversies since her induction as Union HRD minister in May last year and facing opposition voices for her own fake degrees.
On Irani, well known author and journalist Madhu Kishwar in her interview with the Outlook said, “I wouldn’t trust her with Jam and Pickle ministry”. I too raised my concern in social media when she was given the HRD Ministry for her loyalty towards (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi. Many of my friends who were sympathiser of Irani argued that it was the prerogative of the Prime Minister to choose his ministers. Without going in detail about the right or privilege exclusive to the Prime Minister, I would like to ask why he imposed a HRD minister like Smriti Irani on the nation.
Her performance in one year in office has actually been far worse than what we had expected. She is more interested in removing the non-vegetarian items from the menu at IIT Delhi and other central government institutions than formulating strategy and planning to take the Indian education to higher level. Appointment of industrialist Zafar Sareshwala as chancellor of MANUU was another big controversial decision of her ministry. Does our country lack the able academicians that we need to hire an industrialist like Zafar Sareshwala to head a varsity?
We must concede that there is a deep crisis in our education system. Being an education aficionado, I would request the Prime Minister not to play with the same system on which the country’s progress and prosperity relies. Therefore it’s my humble request to replace Irani with someone who can justify the position of HRD minister.
Last but not the least, I would like to request India’s electronic and print media that there are a few universities in India other than the Delhi University. They need your attention too.
Before signing off, I would like to wish best of luck to the students, faculty and staffs of Central university of South Bihar and hope you get your vice chancellor soon.
Dr Mumtaz Naiyer is a Postdoctoral Scientist (Clinical and Experimental Sciences) at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author.