ABSTRACT
Perusing through the structure of governance and its functioning at the level of practice, the chapter notes that governance is getting centralized at the level of the office of Chancellor and the state government, which is evident from meetings, circulars and orders. The appointment of Vice Chancellors and other officers in the universities of Bihar is centralized at the office of Chancellor. The centralizing tendency goes hand in hand with bureaucratic governance as regulations and orders become the basis of governance. As far as the statutory bodies of the university are concerned, there is no doubt that a democratic structure exists. However, at the level of functioning, democratic practices of deliberation are evaded. Statutory bodies are all reactive in the absence of responsibility being imposed on them. Many directives from the top are simply followed.
Under these circumstances, the idea of governance fails to serve the motto of the university, namely the generation of knowledge with an active citizenry of teachers and students. A perusal of the views of Vice Chancellors and Registrars shows that universities are riddled with irregularities and disorders. It may be noted that the university fails to win the trust of the state to enjoy the autonomy that it deserves to realize the idea of the university.
