No end to deadlock over varsity site

And if the university is struggling to find a permanent campus,even its temporary campus has run into problems.

The university will be unable to launch any new academic programmes this year because of space constraint.

Hemmed in by its small,temporary campus in Patna,the university is being unable to expand academically and progressively as envisaged.

The HRD Ministry has asked it to refrain from launching any new programmes in view of space constraint and no signs of a reconciliation with the state government over a permanent campus.

Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Bihar,Prof Janak Pandey,confirmed that they were facing problems. “We have six Master’s programmes and are just about managing in the space available. The state government had told us two years ago that in Patna,there would hardly be any scope for more space. We want to add six more academic programmes at the Master’s level but that is not possible in the current space,” he said.

Most of the new central varsities have already started preliminary work on their permanent campuses or are in the process of land acquisition.

At the heart of the conflict is the Ministry’s discomfiture with the idea of setting up a central university at a remote location. On the other hand,the Bihar government argues new institutes must be set up in relatively backward areas as it will help in the creation of new infrastructure and boost the economy of the place.