The Bihar government has directed polytechnic institutes and engineering colleges to seek accreditation under the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and participate in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in an effort to strengthen and professionalise them while improving their quality, officials said on Monday.
The state will also pursue ISO certification for polytechnic institutions. Of Bihar’s 46 polytechnic institutions, 44 currently operate as centres of excellence (CoE) from which 26,710 students have graduated so far. Besides securing national accreditation, it directed institutions to introduce industry-oriented courses and forge partnerships with leading automobile manufacturers for hands-on training of students in emerging technologies.
Engineering colleges have also been asked to introduce courses on environmental clearance and establish quality control laboratories for the certification of civil works. Bihar currently has 75 to 90 engineering institutions, including 38 government colleges – one in each of its 38 districts. The decisions were taken at a review meeting chaired by Bihar development commissioner Mihir Kumar Singh on June 20 to assess implementation of technical education initiatives under Saat Nischay-3 programme and to further improve the quality and employability outcomes of these CoE.
In a major push towards industry-linked skilling, Singh directed technical institutions to introduce courses in electric vehicles (EVs), battery maintenance, solar technology, robotics and shipping. He tasked the institutes to link with automobile manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Mahindra and Hyundai Motors India to provide practical training to students in EV technology and related fields. The initiative complements Bihar’s broader skill-development ecosystem.
Under a separate programme of the labour resources department, 149 government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) have been upgraded into CoE in collaboration with Tata Technologies under a 10-year partnership. The project has introduced Industry 4.0 technologies, modern laboratories, advanced curricula and original equipment manufacturer-linked certifications in areas such as EVs, robotics, automation, Internet of Things (IoT) and digital manufacturing.
Officials said that the twin initiatives in polytechnics and ITIs aim to create an industry-ready workforce, improve employability and align technical education with evolving needs of the manufacturing, mobility and technology sectors. The state government in the Patna meeting further directed these institutions to form sports clubs, undertake plantation drives, install solar power systems and implement rainwater harvesting measures on campuses.
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