PATNA: It was a year of hectic activities for
Patna University (PU), the seventh oldest university of the country, which organized a number of functions as part of its centenary celebrations. Teachers, non-teaching staff and students of the university remained busy throughout the year, organizing and participating in various events full of fun and frolic and even educative values.
The highlight of PU's centenary celebration was its formal inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Patna Science College on October 14. The function was attended by governor Satya Pal Malik, chief minister Nitish Kumar, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Union ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ram Vilas Paswan, Upendra Kushwaha and state education minister Krishnanandan Prasad Verma besides thousands of students, faculty members and enlightened citizens of the state capital.
However, belying the expectations of the people of Bihar for conversion of 100-year-old PU into a central university, Modi asked PU to compete for occupying a place among the top 10 public universities in the country and win Rs 10,000 crore for developing itself as a world class university. He announced the Union government's scheme to make top 10 public and top 10 private universities of the country 'world class'. Inviting universities to compete for it, he said the winners would be getting Rs 10,000 crore. These universities would be granted complete autonomy and remain free from government control. The selection of the top universities would be done by a third party," he said.
Earlier, the then governor Keshari Nath Tripathi inaugurated the renovated and modernized PU library in April and declared it open for the students and faculty members. The library containing more than 5,000 rare and valuable manuscripts was shut for about two years during renovation.
On September 18, PU organized maiden centenary run in which thousands of people, right from the enthusiastic octogenarian to the bubbling teens, ran from the historic Wheeler Senate House on Ashok Rajpath to the famous Kargil Chawk near Gandhi Maidan for reviving the old glory of the university and taking their alma mater to greater heights. State education minister, legislators and vice-chancellor also participated in the run.
Governor Malik inaugurated a week-long exhibition of rare documents and artefacts on December 8 in which several rare collection of paintings, coins and manuscripts were on display. The State Archives had also arranged a beautiful exhibition of various documents pertaining to the growth and development of PU. A special postage stamp cover on PU was also released on the occasion.
PU organized separate meetings of its alumni, retired teachers and retired employees and sought their cooperation in ensuring its all-round development. A number of seminars, including an international seminar organized by geology department, marked the centenary celebrations. Inter-college sports and cultural competitions were also held.
PU senate has decided to introduce entrance test for admission to all the post-graduation courses and revise the existing curricula of undergraduate courses with a view to implementing choice-based credit system (CBCS) from the next academic session.
The university has also decided to set up as many as 14 new post-graduate departments in the next academic session. The new departments to be established are those of computer science, disaster management, environmental science, energy studies, herbal chemistry, performing arts, electronics, women's studies, social work, anthropology, Buddhist studies, biotechnology and management studies.
Even as PU has got more than 50 new teachers in different subjects on the recommendations of the BPSC, a large number of sanctioned posts of teachers are still lying vacant. The newly elected office-bearers of Patna University Teachers' Association have demanded immediate appointment of teachers against vacant posts.
