As Bihar emerges from a decisive political mandate, attention is turning to governance, growth, and opportunity. Yet one of the most critical levers of the State’s future remains largely outside the headlines: the condition of its higher education system.
Despite being home to nearly 10% of India’s population,Bihar has only around 30 recognised universities, roughly 2–2.5% of the country’s total. This indicates a striking mismatch between population and institutional capacity. This mismatch has produced a quiet but consequential crisis: overcrowded colleges, low enrolment ratios (Bihar’s GER is 17.1% compared to India’s 28.4%), weak research ecosystems, and one of the highest students out-migration rates in the country. Every year, thousands of young Biharis leave to study elsewhere, taking with them their talent, spending, and long-term economic contribution, part of a wider migration trend that has seen nearly three crore Biharis working outside the State by 2025, roughly one in four adults.
A system strained from within
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has described a “crisis in institutional capacity” across Bihar’s universities, citing chronic faculty shortages, weak financial management, and delayed administrative processes. Even when universities are established, they often lack the systems and staffing to function effectively. A CAG report tabled in the Bihar Assembly in March this year said that between 2017 and 2022, 18% of the ₹22,576 crore budget was not used, pointing to “unrealistic budget proposals and inadequate financial control mechanisms”. It also found that 57% of teaching posts in 11 test-checked universities were vacant.
An empirical study, Issues & Challenges Before Higher Education In Bihar,echoes this, highlighting low Gross Enrolment Ratios, poor pupil–teacher ratios, inadequate laboratories, and weak accreditation status. For instance, Bihar has a student-teacher ratio of 39:1, significantly higher than the 16:1 national average. Most institutions struggle to meet even minimum quality norms, trapping them in a cycle of underperformance.
Meanwhile, the UGC’s declaration of three private universities in Bihar as defaulters for non-compliance has exposed another weakness: governance fragility. Several newer State universities also remain without UGC Section 12-B recognition, a status granted by the University Grants Commission to universities and colleges that are deemed fit to receive central assistance from the Government of India.
Together, these failures show that Bihar’s challenge is not ambition but institutional fragility. Building new universities without also building the administrative, financial, and regulatory scaffolding to sustain them only recreates the same dysfunction in new forms.
What might a different approach look like?
If Bihar is to move forward, the reform lens must shift from counting campuses to building institutions that actually work. Political stability offers a rare moment to redesign capacity, not just infrastructure.
The first step is institutional readiness. New universities should not be announced until they meet a clear, mandatory checklist: functional governing bodies, minimum faculty appointments, digital finance and procurement systems, and a time-bound pathway to Section 12-B recognition. States like Odisha and Karnataka already use phased operationalisation plans; Bihar could adopt similar standards and enforce them.
The faculty crisis requires equal urgency. With nearly 60% of teaching posts lying vacant, incremental hiring will not repair the system. Bihar could launch a five-year faculty recruitment mission with predictable hiring cycles and competitive salaries benchmarked to neighbouring States. Early-career teaching fellowships, created with IIT Patna, NIT Patna, and Central universities, could stem the outflow of young academics. A dedicated Research & Faculty Development Fund, supporting doctoral completion, research leave, and publication grants, would build long-term academic depth.
A refreshed model for private and philanthropic participation is also essential. Instead of focusing on land or capital subsidies, Bihar could offer incentives tied to measurable outcomes: NAAC accreditation within fixed timelines, transparent fee structures, research collaboration with State universities, and a minimum share of enrolment from local districts. Outcome-linked frameworks used in Telangana and PPP skill models in Gujarat offer workable precedents.
Digitisation, too often a rhetorical goal, could be a quiet game-changer. Bihar could introduce a centralised digital admissions and examination portal, e-procurement and e-finance systems, and a public higher-education data dashboard tracking faculty strength, accreditation, enrolment, and budget utilisation. Tamil Nadu’s public HEI dashboard shows how transparent data can shift behaviour.
Finally, funding reform can push institutions toward continuous improvement. A portion of State and central grants could be linked to NAAC/NIRF performance, teacher recruitment progress, student progression and employability, and timely financial audits. Cluster-based funding—where neighbouring colleges share faculty, laboratories, and training—has improved quality in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala and could be piloted in Bihar.
Jobs, skills, and youth opportunity dominated the election discourse, and rightly so. But without a strong university system to produce the skilled graduates those jobs require, these promises risk remaining rhetorical. Bihar once gave the world Nalanda, a symbol of intellectual leadership. Rebuilding that legacy in the 21st century requires more than nostalgia; it demands institutional courage, design, and discipline.
Rebuilding Bihar’s higher education is not an act of charity; it is nation-building by design. As Bihar steps into a new political chapter, it has the rare chance to rebuild not just its image, but its institutions. The opportunity is historic. The time is now.
(Pramath Raj Sinha & Shreyasi Singh are founding partners of Jetri, an education consulting and strategic implementation firm.)
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Published – December 01, 2025 06:22 pm IST
