PATNA, Sept. 3 -- The Bihar University of Health Sciences (BUHS) on Tuesday has mandated all affiliated medical, dental, ayurvedic, unani, homeopathic, pharmacy, nursing and paramedical college to install biometric attendance systems for students and teachers within 15 days, following failures in its August 2026 examinations and the students protest. In a communication to college heads, Registrar Vimlesh Kumar Jha stated that the mandate began after August's examination results showed a large number of students had failed across courses. It described the results as the "prima facie" evidence of declining academic standards at the affected institutions. Reports in the media and on social platforms of students protesting the results - and allegations that teaching at several institutions has been irregular and substandard - have fuelled what the letter describes as widespread anger and discontent among the student body. To address the crisis, the university said quality teaching "is a must" going forward, and has now made continuous, real-time monitoring of classrooms mandatory rather than optional, the letter said. The circular lays out two core requirements - biometric attendance and CCTV surveillance - both to be funded by the institutions themselves. Every affiliated college must record attendance of both students and teachers through a facial and finger biometric attendance system. Data must be transmitted daily by 5pm from the college's official email ID to the university's dedicated monitoring address, the letter said. Colleges must also give the university direct access to the system over a broadband internet connection, the letter said, adding, colleges must install an internet proxy (IP)-based CCTV network covering all key areas - lecture halls, laboratories, libraries, administrative offices and biometric attendance points - with real-time feeds, including login credentials, and share real-time feeds and login credentials to facilitate continuous monitoring by the university. The university has asked colleges to complete the installations "at the earliest" within 15 days and submit compliance reports once done, describing the directive as a matter requiring the "highest priority." Medical faculty members, on condition of anonymity, said: "The performance of medical students has declined to an abysmal level in Bihar. No undergraduate medical student is interested in attending classes nowadays, as they devote time at coaching institutes for admission to postgraduate courses. Students lack discipline and there is total anarchy. To take any action against students requires strong political will and government support, which are lacking."...