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. Bihar chief minister Samrat Choudhary. (HT Photo) 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 …