The Governor of Bihar and Chancellor of state universities, Arif Mohammed Khan, on Sunday said that education should focus on developing informed citizens and not remain limited to the awarding of degrees. He was speaking at the 83rd foundation day event of Gaya College, held on Sunday.

During the programme, the Governor unveiled a life-size statue of Swami Vivekananda and released a book documenting his life. In his address, Khan spoke broadly about the role of educational institutions in shaping civic awareness. 

On the sidelines of the event, the Vice-Chancellor of Magadh University outlined a series of academic and administrative steps taken by the university in recent years. These include efforts to bring regularity to academic sessions by conducting around 155 examinations over a three-year period. The university has also introduced centralised evaluation to reduce delays in the declaration of examination results.

The Vice-Chancellor said that more than 6.5 lakh degree certificates have been distributed through affiliated colleges to reduce the need for students to visit the university headquarters. As reported by The Times of India, the university has proposed setting up an Artificial Intelligence (AI) centre offering diploma- to postgraduate-level programmes. IIT Patna is expected to provide academic support for the initiative, and Rs 20 crore has been allocated from Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh’s MPLAD fund.

Additional measures mentioned include the preparation of an academic calendar covering examinations, results and admissions, updates to the pension system, and a proposal to construct a separate examination department building and a centralised examination hall at an estimated cost of Rs 34 crore.The event was attended by several state leaders and officials and was presided over by the college principal, Satish Singh Chandra.