PATNA, Oct. 2 -- Bihar Governor-cum-Chancellor Lt Gen (rtd) Syed Ata Hasnain on Thursday said that the negative perception about the higher education system of Bihar needed to be changed. "There is room for improvement in every system and continuous improvement in higher education is possible by recognising the challenges and working effectively," he said in an apparent reference to delays in implementation of even Lok Bhawan orders, like the one given for pending promotion of teachers, which remains stuck due to the whims and fancies of some VCs. Hasnain was speaking at a workshop on "Revamp of Higher Education System" at the Lok Bhawan, in which all the vice chancellors, registrars, finance officers, financial advisors and constituent college principals participated to dwell on various aspects. Higher education minister Sanjay Singh Tiger was also present on the occasion. The workshop was called for brainstorming on key issues that have let the universities down, viz.financial management, disciplinary proceedings, preparation of institute development plan, NAAC accreditation, apprenticeship programme etc. Maintaining that most of the problems are due to delay in decision-making and inept handling, the Governor underlined the need to understand the expectations of the new generation, listen to the students, and develop continuous discourse with them. Sending a clear message across to the VCs, the Governor reiterated the need of restoring sanitary in exam calendars by ending the pendency of exams and ensuring timely publication of results. This has been a priority area for the Chancellor's office for years without much success. "Education is not limited to the classroom only. Hostels, mess, libraries, laboratories, roads, security and other facilities are also an important part of the education system. The safety of female students and gender sensitivity on university campuses need top priority," he said. He asked the university authorities to increase discourse wirh students to make campuses more vibrant and stressed on effective use of Samarth portal. "There should be a feedback mechanism to address students' complaints," he added, releasing a VCs' handbook and compendium of UGC regulations. The Governor has pointed out issues with the education system in Bihar on several occasions before. Earlier in June, he announced Bihar will have a new Act for the Bihar state universities incorporating the best practises of other states and central universities. This was decided at a high-level meeting chaired by Governor-cum-Chancellor Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain on Friday to review new initiatives for improvement in the higher education sphere. The meeting focused on making the regulatory framework of higher education simple, transparent and contemporary and underlined the need for a comprehensive proposal after studying the Acts and best practices of 15 states, according to officials aware of the matter. Hasnain also directed all state universities to fully implement all the 26 modules of the accounting and finance, employee services and academic package of the Samarth portal by December 31, 2026.He also advocated a comprehensive assessment system for evaluating institutional performance to promote institutional excellence and continuous improvement....