PATNA, May 21 -- Bihar Lok Bhavan has initiated the process for the appointment of vice-chancellors in six state universities to end ad hoc arrangements in these institutions. The Governor's secretariat on Wednesday invited applications for LN Mithila University (Darbhanga), Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga, Sanskrit University, BN Mandal University (Madhepura), BBA Bihar University (Muzaffarpur), JP University (Chapra) and Aryabhatt Knowledge University (Patna). All these universities will have vacancies around next January. Patna University will also have a vacancy during the same period, but due to a separate governing Act, a separate advertisement will be issued for it. The last date for submission of application in the prescribed format is June 20. The process of interaction with the search committee has already been completed for Magadh University (Bodh Gaya), Veer Kunwar Singh University (Ara) and TM Bhagalpur University, all of which are currently under interim arrangement. The announcement of names will happen after consultations with the government. "The process for three state universities had almost been completed during the Nitish government, but the matter remained stuck due to transition and could happen any day now," said a higher education department official. However, this is the first time applications have been invited so early to complete the screening and search committee interaction process ahead of the end of tenure for present incumbents, who are debarred from taking any policy decisions three months before their term ends. The same applies to interim arrangements and if they last for a longer time, as it often happened in the past, it hurts the institutions. As per the Lok Bhawan notification, the applicants for the VC post must have a minimum of 10 years of experience as a professor in a university system or an equivalent position in a reputed research or academic organisation with proof of having demonstrated academic leadership. "However, due to delayed promotions and the calculation of seniority in the rank of professor from the date of notification in Bihar-not the actual date of promotion as in many other states-many aspirants may miss out again, though no fault of their own, even after completing 2-3 decades of service. That also limits Lok Bhawan's options for having fresh faces with a fresh approach in the rapidly changing dynamics of higher education," said Sanjay Kumar Singh, MLC, general secretary of the Federation of University Teachers Association of Bihar (FUTAB). He said that those appointed in 1996 or 2003 through the Bihar State University Service Commission are the worst sufferers and it is no rocket science to understand the mechanisation behind it, as there is great variation and arbitrariness due to a lack of accountability. "Even in the smallest Patna University, I have heard one VC gets the backlog promotions cleared while another withholds already issued notifications en masse just because he found some anomalies in a few cases. In some Universities, there are allegations of money play also," he added. In Bihar, the commission carried out appointments thrice during the previous RJD dispensation in 1991, 1996 and 2003. During the Nitish government the commission was dissolved in 2007 only to be revived again in 2020 and it is yet to complete even one recruitment process. This has also led to numerous controversies regarding experience and research paper anomalies, resulting in hundreds of court cases. Prior to 2020, there was only one recruitment carried out by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) in 2014 during the Nitish regime. That process also stretched to five years, but involved fewer controversies, mainly revolving around the rejection of PhD degrees from state universities for not conforming to the 2009 UGC regulation. JD(U) MLC Sanjiv Kumar, who is a teacher representative, said that the Governor's move to start the appointment process well before vacancies arise is welcome. This will eliminate chronic ad hocism and give the search committee enough time to select the best candidates, as transforming higher education is impossible without capable leadership in universities. "The inordinate delay in promotions certainly looks deliberate to create room for outsiders and old guards, who benefit from status quo. I had raised the issue in the Legislative Council and everyone urged the Chancellor as well as the Education Minister to issue a direction for a promotion calendar, similar to the gazette notification of exam calendar. The present Governor is sensitive and I hope he will take the corrective measures soon to end arbitrariness and fix accountability," he added....