Bihar advances higher‑education reform bill to restructure colleges and curb teachers' political activity

The Bihar state government is preparing a new higher‑education bill that would split the management of degree colleges from universities. Under the proposal, roughly 481 government degree colleges would be taken out of university control and placed directly under the state Higher Education Department, while universities would focus on postgraduate and research programmes.

The bill also seeks to prohibit college teachers from participating in political activities, forbidding them from publicly supporting parties or ideologies. It would change appointment, transfer and promotion procedures so that the department, not universities, decides these matters. Additional provisions include deploying a higher‑education officer in each district to oversee colleges, revising NET qualification requirements, and removing the mandatory PhD requirement for certain positions.

Opposition has been voiced by several JD(U) and BJP legislators, who argue that the changes threaten college autonomy and quality, and could limit teachers’ career advancement. The proposal echoes earlier disputes during Nitish Kumar’s tenure over university governance and the role of the state governor.