Patna: The Aryabhatta Knowledge University (AKU), which provides affiliation to technical institutions in the state, on Monday celebrated its eighth foundation day at its campus.
On the occasion, university vice-chancellor Arun Kumar Agarwal highlighted the various activities being carried out by the university and also spoke about ongoing construction work of its permanent campus at Mithapur.
"The university has issued an ordinance for setting up four new departments at the varsity," Agarwal said. "These are Centre for River Studies, Centre for Journalism and Mass Communication, Centre for Geographical Studies and Paltiputra School of Economics." Sources, however, said that though the vice-chancellor mentioned about ordinances issued by the university for launching these courses, the launch has been pending for years. The education department has formed a search panel for all four new courses, but the post of director for the courses has not been formed.
While laying the foundation stone of Aryabhatta Knowledge University on August 2015, chief minister Nitish Kumar had announced setting up of the Patliputra School of Economics and Centres for River Studies (CRS). The Patliputra School of Economics and Centres for River Studies has high potential for students in a state like Bihar where large parts get inundated during the monsoon season every year.
The school will study the river system in the state.
The vice-chancellor said construction of a new campus is going on at a war footing and the campus will soon be shifted to its permanent location.
Sources said construction work of the new campus, adjacent to CNLU, is almost complete. The new campus has three ground plus six administrative blocks, a vice-chancellor's quarter, registrar's quarter, inspector of colleges' quarter, research scholar's quarter and staff quarter.
Established by chief minister Nitish Kumar as one of his dream projects in 2010, AKU started from a room of the flat of its former vice-chancellor S.N. Guha at Rajkishori Complex in Kankerbagh. On the occasion, university pro-vice chancellor S.M. Karim said: "The university has carried out some remarkable work in such a little time, such as timely conduct of examination and declaration of results."