2 Patna University institutions yet to start admission process

PATNA: Even as Patna University (PU) has started the process of admission of students to all its undergraduate and post-graduate courses running under conventional or self-financing mode for the next academic session (2019-20), its two constituent units—the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) and Patna Law College have not yet invited applications for admission. Incidentally, both these institutions have not received ‘go-ahead’ from their respective regulatory bodies.
While the DDE stands de-recognized by the Distance Education Bureau (DEB) of UGC for the last two academic years owing to some shortcomings, Patna Law College has also not got permission of the Bar Council of India (BCI) for admitting students to the LL B course in 2019-20 session. Both these institutions are awaiting some favourable response to their request for starting the process of admission.
DDE’s deputy director Deepti Kumari said that Patna University has removed all the shortcomings pointed out by the DEB and made a detailed presentation to this effect before the authorities concerned recently in New Delhi. She hoped that DEB would restore its recognition to PU’s DDE within a week, following which the process of admission would be started. Established as the Institute of Correspondence Courses in 1974, PU’s DDE used to attract nearly 8,000 students every year for pursuing undergraduate and post-graduate courses through distance mode. But, it has not been able to admit even a single student to any course following its de-recognition by the DEB.
On the other hand, the LLB course offered by Patna Law College has not found sanction of the BCI so far due to acute dearth of teachers. There are only six teachers in the college against 27 sanctioned posts, including those of 14 part-time teachers. The number of teachers working in postgraduate law department of PU is four even though there are six sanctioned posts.
PU could not make any appointment against the vacant posts of part-time teachers due to certain changes in the qualifications prescribed by the UGC and BCI. Now, the university has resolved this crisis and has asked the newly- constituted University Service Commission (USC) to make the appointments. “PU is hopeful of getting necessary approval of BCI for starting the process of admission soon,” said Vani Bhushan, a senior teacher of law faculty.