PhD holders and research scholars march towards Lok Bhawan in Patna stopped by police

Patna, Aug 22 (IANS) PhD holders and research scholars protesting in Patna for the past 18 days marched towards the Lok Bhawan on Saturday to press for their demands.

Carrying the Tricolour, the protesters attempted to proceed from the protest site but were stopped by police near the R-Block area in Patna.

Members of the All PhD Holders and Research Scholars Association of Bihar have been staging an indefinite protest at Patna’s Gardanibagh, raising concerns over higher education, employment opportunities for qualified youth and the academic future of research scholars.

Police personnel had been deployed in advance, and barricades were erected to prevent the protesters from moving further.

When the demonstrators attempted to cross the barricades, police personnel intervened and stopped them from proceeding towards Lok Bhawan.

Association Convener Kumud Patel, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike, said the movement goes beyond the demand for recruitment to a limited number of posts.

According to him, the protesters are seeking broader reforms concerning Bihar’s higher education system, employment opportunities and the rights and dignity of research scholars.

Patel said the struggle is about determining the future direction of higher education in Bihar and ensuring better opportunities for the coming generations.

He appealed to the people supporting education, employment and justice to join the movement.

The protesters maintain that their demands concern not only appointments but also the wider academic environment and the future prospects of thousands of researchers and highly qualified young people in the state.

The protesting PhD holders and research scholars in Bihar have outlined several demands concerning the recruitment and service conditions of Assistant Professors and the broader functioning of higher education institutions.

The protestors demanded the implementation of UGC Regulations, 2018, along with Table 3A, in the recruitment process for Assistant Professors.

“Increasing the upper age limit for Assistant Professor recruitment from 43 to 55 years; formulating a fair policy for the service integration and regularisation of long-serving guest faculty; introducing a clear and legally sustainable domicile policy for Assistant Professor recruitment in Bihar; ensuring regular and time-bound recruitment to permanent Assistant Professor posts in universities across the state; and protecting the academic autonomy of universities and colleges.”

The protesters said that these measures are essential to improve the recruitment system, provide greater opportunities to qualified researchers and strengthen Bihar’s higher education sector.

They have made it clear that the agitation will continue until the state government takes concrete steps towards addressing their demands.

–IANS

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