CAG Report Highlights Crisis in Bihar’s Higher Education Sector

Patna: Bihar’s higher education sector is facing a severe crisis, with administrative inefficiencies and chronic staff shortages, according to the latest report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). The report, presented in the state legislature on Tuesday by Finance Minister Samrat Chaudhary, exposes a range of shortcomings, including unutilized funds, irregular salary payments, and significant delays in examination results.

The report, which examines the financial year ending March 31, 2022, reveals that 57% of teaching positions remain vacant across 11 sample-checked universities in Bihar. The situation is particularly dire at Maulana Mazharul Haque Arabic and Persian University, where 86% of teaching posts are unfilled, followed by Bhupendra Narayan Mandal University, which has a 49% vacancy rate. The shortage of non-teaching staff is also severe, with 56% of sanctioned posts lying vacant.

Unused Funds and Irregular Payments

The CAG report highlights significant lapses in budget utilization. Between 2017 and 2022, Bihar’s universities failed to use Rs 4,134.01 crore—18% of the total allocated budget of Rs 22,576.33 crore. This underutilization raises concerns about the efficiency of financial planning in the higher education sector.

Furthermore, the report flags irregular salary disbursements. In five of the 11 universities audited, Rs 48.28 crore in salary arrears was paid to academic and non-academic staff without verification through the Pay Verification Cell. At Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University, Rs 14.41 crore was paid to 201 teachers as Seventh Pay Commission arrears without deducting Rs 4.32 crore in income tax, violating statutory provisions.

UGC Grants and Examination Delays

The report also points to missed opportunities for external funding. Due to non-utilization of previously released University Grants Commission (UGC) funds, the universities examined in the audit failed to receive Rs 27.82 crore in subsequent grants—60% of the total allocation.

Delays in examination results have further hampered academic progress. Undergraduate and postgraduate results between 2017 and 2022 were published between four and 946 days late, far exceeding the prescribed 60-day period.