Bihar engineering colleges may lose 205 teachers;Check details here

The latest iteration of TEQIP — a joint project of the Education Ministry (formerly Human Resource Development Ministry) and the World Bank — was implemented in the state in 2017.

The future of more than 200 teachers posted in Bihar under the Central government’s Technical Educational Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP) stands uncertain as their position has not been regularised by the Centre yet, and their tenure is scheduled to end on September 30.

The latest iteration of TEQIP — a joint project of the Education Ministry (formerly Human Resource Development Ministry) and the World Bank — was implemented in the state in 2017. The project aimed to improve the quality of technical education across the state. As per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Centre and Bihar government at the time, the teachers recruited for engineering colleges in Bihar would be absorbed by the state after TEQIP’s tenure ends.

In Bihar, 205 assistant professors were recruited and posted at seven engineering colleges under the scheme — Motihari College of Engineering, Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology, Bhagalpur College of Engineering, Darbhanga College of Engineering, Gaya College of Engineering, Nalanda College of Engineering and LNJP Institute of Technology, Chhapra — overall, catering to about 5,000 students.

A teacher from Motihari engineering college told a media house that, “Bihar’s rank is the lowest in terms of technical education and it needs TEQIP to maintain a 1:15 teacher-to-student ratio, as well as the quality of education… Without TEQIP teachers, these seven colleges would be left with 142 teachers.”

Brijesh Mehrotra, additional chief secretary in the state’s science and technology department, while talking to a media house said: “We have requested the Centre for an extension of the project. It is an MHRD-World Bank project and all teachers are contractual. It is entirely up to the Centre to take a call on it. The programme relates to 17 states — Bihar being one of the beneficiary states.”

Asked about the state’s MoU regarding extending services of assistant professors, Mehrotra said: “We will have to see the MoU clauses. But even for contractual appointments, there are issues such as reservation policy. We are waiting for the Centre’s response.”

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