PATNA, June 14 -- Bihar Governor-cum-Chancellor of universities, Arif Mohammad Khan, has called a meeting of all the vice chancellors on June 18. A senior official familiar with the matter said that the VCs have been asked to come with status reports on specific agenda in the prescribed format. The meeting is significant, as it has been called at the start of the new academic session and most of the state universities have been struggling with ad hocism in staffing key posts, rampant campus indiscipline, erratic teaching and late sessions for years. The agenda includes status of examination calendar of under-graduate and post-graduate levels, issue of land disputes of universities/college, including affiliated colleges and the issues related to the education department, viz. release of funds by the government under various heads and the disparity between the pay verification letter issued by the department and the salary determined by the statutory body of the universities. The Raj Bhawan has sought status reports in the prescribed Excel format through mail prior to the meeting and some of the universities are already in the process of preparing and sending it. The VCs have to carry the required report (as hard copy as well as in soft mode) at the meeting. The Raj Bhawan has been writing to the universities for compliance of its directions and orders. It had also expressed its displeasure over the delays in implementations of Chancellor's directions and sought a report on that. Khan's predecessor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, who is at present the Governor of Kerala, had last year also sought status of academic calendar of under-graduate and post-graduate courses, status of pending examinations, payment of retrial benefits to teaching and non-teaching employees at the August meeting in prescribed format. The problems facing the state universities in Bihar have been getting more and more serious and there is fear that they could once again be left way behind at a time when the universities across the country are striving to align with the the New Education Policy (NEP) for greater flexibility and more choices for the students. The result is that even the once famed Patna University is struggling to attract students and its seats have remained vacant Even for NAAC accreditation and national institutional framework ranking (NIRF), Bihar's universities and colleges have been reluctant due to several handicaps, including huge shortage teachers, lack of campus activity, politicised campuses and missing sports , cultural and other co-scholastic and extra-curricular activities. The posting of principals in the constituent colleges of Bihar also remains stuck despite recommendation of 116 names sent to the universities on March 24 itself, as the Patna High Court has put under abeyance the May 16 Raj Bhawan direction to all the VCs laying down the process. Though the Governor had approved the new Statutes containing the Terms and Conditions for appointment of Financial Advisor, Registrars and Finance Officers in the state universities of Bihar last month, its implementation remains awaited....