Bihar PhD scholars, guest faculty call off 21-day protest after talks with Governor

Patna: PhD scholars and guest faculty members in Bihar agreed to withdraw their 21-day-long protest over a slew of demands after reaching a consensus with Governor Syed Ata Hasnain on Monday, officials said.

The decision was taken after a six-member delegation of the All PhD Holders and Research Association held a two-hour meeting with the governor at Lok Bhawan. The PhD holders and guest faculties were protesting since August 4, with one Kumud Patel being on hunger strike all throughout.

Bihar PhD scholars end 21-day protest

They had been demanding implementation of UGC Regulation 2018, Table 3A, in the appointment of Assistant Professors; raising the maximum age limit for applicants to 55 years; regularisation of Assistant Professor appointments in Bihar's universities; implementation of a domicile policy, and others.

According to a statement issued by the Governor's secretariat, the protesters assured after the meeting that they would call off their hunger strike as their demands were being considered. The Statutes for Appointment of Assistant Professors, 2026 will remain in abeyance until necessary amendments are made after considering the association's major demands, it said.

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The governor will, after consultation with Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, constitute a committee, comprising prominent educationists from Bihar and administrators with experience in the education sector, within 15 days to examine the demands of protestors, the statement added.

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The committee will consider restoring the maximum age limit for assistant professors to 55 years and introducing an objective written examination, with written-test marks and API scores combined to prepare a merit list, it stated.

According to the statement, it will consider demands related to API calculation, including excluding matriculation and intermediate marks, retaining NET/JRF weightage at up to but increasing PhD weightage at not less than 30, while also including research publications and experience "with clear definitions" to prevent misuse.

Similarly, the committee will also examine demands concerning guest assistant professors, including providing them the minimum pay scale and dearness allowance applicable to contractual assistant professors, a uniform renewal process across universities, and verification of their qualifications, research papers and experience, after which eligible guest faculty could be allowed to work up to 65 years.

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It will also consider gradually reducing the maximum age limit rather than cutting it at once, while ensuring regular assistant professor recruitment against vacancies every year, the statement read. There is no statement from the protesters' side till the filing of this report.