By Alok Mohit
PATNA: A standoff between the Nitish Kumar government and Raj Bhavan was on Friday averted with the Bihar education department withdrawing its advertisement calling for applications for posts of vice-chancellors in state-run universities.
The notification to withdraw the order, two days after a meeting between chief minister Nitish Kumar and governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar amid a tussle over the issue now paves the way for Raj Bhavan to proceed with the appointment of vice-chancellors. The governor also holds the position of chancellor of state universities.
In the announcement regarding the withdrawal of the advertisement, education secretary Baidyanath Yadav stated, “The advertisements published by the Education Department (Bihar) in various newspapers on August 22 inviting applications for the post of VCs are hereby withdrawn.”
The education department had earlier called for applications for the vice-chancellor positions in various universities, days after a similar advertisement was issued by Raj Bhavan.
The chancellor’s secretariat had invited applications for the post of vice-chancellors in Patna University, Lalit Narayan Mithila University (Darbhanga), Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University (Muzaffarpur), Jai Prakash University (Chapra), B N Mandal University (Madhepura), and Aryabhatta Knowledge University (Patna). The education department’s advertisement in newspapers on August 22 invited applications for positions in only five of these universities.
Although the terms and conditions outlined in both advertisements were largely consistent, the key difference was in the deadline for submission of applications. While the chancellor’s secretariat stipulated a submission period for the seven universities from August 24 to 27, the education department’s advertisement indicated a later deadline of September 13 for the same positions.
(Author Alok Mohit is former senior News Editor of Hindustan Times Patna and Chandigarh editions; can be contacted at mohit.alok19@gmail.com)
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