Do educational institutes discriminate against Biharis?

PUNE: Bihar, with its long drawn out election process, has led to a national focus on its many ailments. Why, for instance, do reputed educational institutes have a very quiet and subtle ''No Bihari''s, please'' policy? And why is it that those educational institutes which do admit large numbers of students from Bihar, face disciplinary issues? Is it purely coincidental that educational institutes with political backing take in these students?
"They are a quiet, often studious, bunch; we have no problems with them", "They are a rowdy lot if they are in large groups, when the mob mentality takes over," to "We have had experience in the past of unruly behaviour so we prefer not to take them under the discretionary management quota."
That sums up the view in Pune of the Bihari student.The view is clear: individually, the Bihari is just like you ''n'' me; put him (never a her) in a group of other Biharis and you have an unruly, indisciplined bunch. Which is when the pejorative ''Bihari'' is used, which further angers them.
"Pune is a peaceful city, examinations are held on time, the educational institutions here enjoy a good reputation. So, it is attracting students from all over the country, not just Bihar," Mangesh T Karad, executive director, planning and development, Maharashtra Academy of Engineering and Educational Research (MAEER), which runs the Maharashtra Institute of Technology(MIT), in Pune, explained about the choice of the city.
Aniruddha Deshpande, principal, Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC), the city''s premier commerce college, said the students they get from Bihar are a quiet lot. No rowdyism there. But that could be because they form a small segment: the college has a 10 per cent quota for out-of-state students. And the cut off for entry ranges from 80-82 per cent.
"We have a sizeable segment of students from Bihar,out of that 10 per cent quota for students from the rest of India. We have no issues over discipline with them, because they are not so numerous," Mr Deshpande said.
What most of the principals and heads of institutions will not say openly is the affluence of the family, its political clout in the home state and the link with indiscipline. Or that private professional colleges, with their discretionary quotas, tend to take in larger numbers of students from affluent Bihari families. When you get the combination of money, indiscipline and a large group of the like-minded.In such institutes, students from Bihar form a sizeable group: as much as 20 per cent of every intake in management courses.
"We take in 540 students for our engineering college every year. Students from Bihar account for 5 per cent of that, which is 200 students for engineering alone. In the management college, we have an annual intake of 800 and students from Bihar usually form 20 per cent," Prof Karad said.
And this is just one educational conglomerate. Bharati Vidyapeeth (run by Patangrao Kadam, minister of cooperation in the state government) and the DY Patil colleges are some of the others.
Bharati Vidyapeeth,a Deemed Unviersity, has the full range of educational institutes offering professional courses: medical, dental, ayurvedic, homeopathy and management colleges. Its 17 colleges have 10-11,000 students, of which a sizeable 52 per cent come from outside the state, officials said.
The city has about 35 management institutes, taking in an average of 1,000 per batch. The fees for such courses range from Rs 35,000- 1.25 lakh per annum but as all heads of institutions pointed out, fees are the least of the cost. They need between Rs 24,000- 5.4 lakh annually: this covers lodging, boarding, cell and fuel bills and socialising. Hanging out at restaurants is a major activity for all out-of-towners, not just those from Bihar.
The negative image has lead some of the city''s private engineering colleges denying seats from their discretionary quotas to students from Bihar. Officials from such institutes maintain they want to retain their reputation for educational excellence.
Prof Karad admitted they have had problems with students from Bihar (he was referring to the erstwhile state, prior to the creation of Jharkhand).
"We have, in the past,taken disciplinary action against them, for rowdyism in the hostel. They tend to be the leaders of the group. They do not like to be called ''Biharis'' because of the negative connotation," he said.
Observers note that a professional degree fetches a higher dowry in the marriage market, which could explain why parents take loans and send their children, especially sons, to Pune for an education. And often enough, these students take up jobs in the Pune-Mumbai belt: there being none back home.