Governor approves new PG, PhD regulations for Bihar universities

Patna: The universities in Bihar will now conduct post-graduate academic programmes of one-year and two-year duration as per the provisions of the new ordinance and regulations based on New Education Policy, 2020, approved by governor-cum-chancellor Syed Ata Hasnain.The revised ordinance and regulations governing the postgraduate programmes, which supersede the existing regulations promulgated on May 29, 2018, have been uploaded on Lok Bhavan’s website and sent to all the universities concerned besides higher education department.The chancellor secretariat has also released the revised uniform regulations governing the award of Ph D degrees in the universities of Bihar, duly approved by the governor, and displayed on the Lok Bhavan’s website.

These revised regulations supersede the existing ordinance and regulations promulgated on Sept 21, 2017.The revised ordinance for PG envisages that the duration of the programme will be one year for those who join this course after doing a four-year undergraduate programme and three years for those who join it after a two-year degree course. The postgraduate programme has been designed in accordance with the guidelines of the UGC and incorporates the principles of National Credit Framework.

Similarly, the Bihar State Universities (Minimum Standards and Procedure for the award of Ph D degrees) Regulations, 2026 envisages that admission to the Ph D programme shall be strictly limited to candidates who have qualified the UGC-NET/UGC-CSIR/GATE examinations. The final selection list for admission of candidates to the Ph D course shall be based on the NET score (80%) and interview by the departmental research council (20%).

The number of candidates called for interview shall be in the ratio of 1:3; i.e., three candidates for every available seat.The university shall maintain an updated list of Ph D supervisors. The number of vacant seats under a particular supervisor shall be counted only when a working scholar is awarded a Ph D degree. Besides, each supervisor may guide two international scholars on a supernumerary basis, over and above the prescribed strength, the regulations add.