Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary during the inauguration of a new Government Degree College in Bhagalpur on Wednesday. (ANI)The Bihar government is set to introduce a draft legislation in the upcoming Monsoon session to bifurcate degree colleges from state universities. Under the proposal, over 500 constituent colleges offering undergraduate degrees would come directly under the control of a newly created higher education department, leaving the Governor, who is also the Chancellor of universities, with control over only postgraduate courses.Raj Bhavan has not yet publicly opposed the state government’s move. Governor Syed Ata Hasnain, speaking at an event on July 12, confirmed that a new education bill would be introduced in the upcoming assembly session.Read | No more middlemen? Bihar will offer property registry at doorstep for senior citizensA Raj Bhavan press statement, issued the same day, stated, “The Governor said that serious efforts are being made to make the higher education system in the state more effective and quality-oriented. He expressed hope that a new bill related to higher education will be introduced in the upcoming assembly session. He added that the creation of any important law is the result of extensive study, deep deliberation, and continuous hard work.”Sources in Raj Bhavan and the higher education department told The Indian Express that under the new system, the Department of Higher Education would have direct control over both newly created colleges and older constituent colleges.Read | Prashant Kishor poll debut runs into rough weather, his party loses leaders to BJP“All matters related to teachers will now be controlled directly from the Secretariat. Previously, there were two distinct legislative systems for universities in Bihar: the Patna University Act, 1976, and the Bihar State Universities Act, 1976. Now, both of these are being merged,” an official from the higher education department said.At present, Bihar has 21 state universities running both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.The proposed education law has several other key facets, too:Story continues below this adPolicy, administrative decisions, and promotions for college teachers and staff, previously managed by respective universities, will be overseen directly by the Department of Higher Education.Teachers will not be permitted to participate in political activities, nor can they publicly support, write about, or propagate any political ideology.A Higher Education Officer will be appointed to monitor colleges in each district, similar to the District Education Officer system for high schools.A degree college teacher will no longer be eligible to transition into a university-level professor. Additionally, the minimum qualification for appointment as an assistant professor at a degree college will be a Master’s degree with NET qualification, removing the mandatory PhD requirement.A teacher at A N College, Patna, noted: “So far, Bihar has been one of the few states that followed the structural pattern of Delhi University. But Bihar had a distinct advantage – unlike DU, our degree college teachers could gradually rise to become university professors. The new Bihar education law will do away with that pathway.”When contacted, Bihar Higher Education Director N.K. Agrawal told The Indian Express. “It is not proper to talk about something that still lies in the womb. One will learn the details once it is officially released. We should wait for the cabinet’s decision.”Incidentally, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday inaugurated 211 new degree colleges – one in each block. The state government, which has promised to open a degree college in each of Bihar’s 534 blocks, is now close to operating over 500 government degree colleges.Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. Expertise He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. ... Read More Tags:Bihar