Concerned that the strikes had disrupted academic activities at the institution, Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar intervened on Thursday evening to end the stalemate at Patna University. The operations at the university had been paralysed for more than a week by an indefinite strike by the Patna University Employees’ Association, resulting in the suspension of all examinations and activities.
To try and bring back order in the situation, the Governor mediated a meeting between the employees’ association and the university management at the Raj Bhawan. These discussions ended at about 10:00 pm on Thursday with a positive result that had the effective agreement to stop the strike. This was followed by the expression that this agreement heralded the reopening of the university gates on Friday, as noted by a senior university official.
“Let me assure you that the strike has been cancelled, and the new exam timetable will be released shortly,” the official added. The employees’ association entered into a contract with the copies of the university agreeing to follow what was agreed at the Raj Bhawan. The university also needs one month to meet three financial contingencies for which the university has written to the state government.
Before this, Governor Arlekar, who is also the chancellor of state universities, had accused the administration of mishandling the issues, stressing that such issues should have been sorted within the university. Specifically, the Governor spoke about the need to work on the issue of the simplicity of the academic year and the relevance of students’ academic matters. He called principal constitutional dignitaries such as Vice Chancellor AK Singh and demanded that they deal with the problem expeditiously.
This intervention is considered to be one step towards making certain that the academic session starts again without interruption. The governor’s action shows his concern for preserving stability and continuous improvement of the state’s higher education system, especially considering the impact of the strike.
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