Patna Science College struggles hard to fill sanctioned seats

Patna: Once considered a Mecca for pursuing higher education in science and the dream college of every student, today the 98-year-old Patna Science College, a constituent unit of Patna University (PU), is struggling hard to fill up even its sanctioned seats. Patna University sources said only 545 boys and girls secured their admission against 660 sanctioned seats in different honours subjects in the college till Tuesday evening. As many as 1,115 seats remained vacant as the applicants did not turn up for admission despite two rounds of counselling and two weeks after the commencement of admission.The college was born in July 1927 after the separation of science teaching from Patna College (formally inaugurated on Nov 15, 1928, by the then Viceroy, Lord Irwin). Since then, the college made significant strides in the field of science teaching and research, with most of its alumni occupying top positions in different fields. Mathematical genius Vashishth Narain Singh, physicist (child prodigy) Tatahgat Avatar Tulsi, Atomic Energy Commission's former chairman Ratan Kumar Sinha, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research's former director S S Jha, renowned physicist H C Verma, popular film personalities Jagat Murari (former director of FTII) and Shatrughan Sinha, former lieutenant governor (twice) of Delhi Tejednra Khanna, former SEBI chairman U K Sinha, chief minister Nitish Kumar, and hosts of administrators and politicians have all been alumni of this institution.The present decline in this institution's academic standard can be attributed to various factors, including a lack of qualified teaching staff, indifference from authorities towards addressing shortcomings, and insufficient funds to maintain basic facilities in classrooms, laboratories, and the library.Patna University's former vice-chancellor and the college's former principal, Jagannath Thakur, who was also an alumnus of this college, observed that an institution takes a long time to build its reputation, but it is ruined in no time. Neither the govt nor the public tried to save the reputation of this premier institution. Consequently, talented students started migrating from Bihar to other places for better education, he said.College principal Atul Aditya Pandey admitted that the authorities' alleged indifference towards the various shortcomings of the institution has been telling upon its academic performance. He pointed out that at present, there are only 31 regular teachers, including him, against 110 sanctioned posts. Similarly, only 64 non-teaching employees are working against the total sanctioned posts of 214 in the college.He further pointed out that present-day students are mostly interested in doing medical or engineering courses. Hence, instead of joining basic science courses in local colleges, they try for some ‘sunrise' courses outside the state, he said.The college's former principal and Aryabhatta Knowledge University's founder vice-chancellor, Shambhu Nath Guha, held the delinking of intermediate teaching from the college solely responsible for its deteriorating standard. Earlier, the cream of students passing the matriculation examination with very high marks used to join this college, and invariably they completed their post-graduation studies from here. Bihar State Pollution Control Board's former chairman and college alumnus Ashok Kumar Ghosh, said the college has failed to introduce any new innovative course during the last one decade or so. While several other local colleges have been conducting dozens of such ‘modern' courses for the last several years, Patna Science College has introduced just three new courses īn the last two or three decades, he said.