The Bihar Higher Education Department has shortlisted 54 colleges and institutions across the state to be developed as Centres of Excellence under the Nitish Kumar Government’s ‘Saat Nischay–3’ programme to strengthen higher education in the state. The initiative aims to enhance academic standards and create subject-specific expert centres across Bihar.
N.K. Agrawal, director of higher education, said the initiative aims to upgrade reputed institutions into subject-specific expert centres.
“Under Saat Nischay–3, the state’s prestigious colleges and institutions will be developed as Centres of Excellence. Each college will be developed as an expert centre in one subject so that the quality of education in the state improves and students of Bihar get better options in different streams within the state itself,” he said.
Of the 54 institutions selected, plans and roadmaps are afoot for 31, “the process for their development will begin in the coming weeks.” H
“The first phase of the initiative has been targeted for 2026–27 with proposed colleges, including leading institutions under Patna University such as Patna Women’s College, Patna Science College, Patna College, and Magadh Mahila College, along with the College of Arts and Crafts,” he said.
Institutions affiliated to Pataliputra University, Magadh University, Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Veer Kunwar Singh University, B N Mandal University, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Bihar University, Jai Prakash University, Munger University, Purnea University and Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University are also included, covering districts from Gaya and Darbhanga to Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Purnea and West Champaran.
“The second phase will be rolled out from 2027 to 2030, and will include additional colleges across districts like Nawada, Arwal, Jehanabad, Buxar, Kaimur, Siwan, Gopalganj, Araria, Kishanganj and Vaishali, further expanding the programme’s footprint,” the official said.
Agrawal, who has recently been given the additional charge of Executive Chairman of the Bihar Hindi Granth Academy, said the department is reviewing academic activities across higher education institutions. “While reviewing the academic activities of all higher educational institutions in the state, there is a plan to strengthen them academically in the present context,” he said.
He further noted that under Saat Nischay-3, degree colleges will be established in blocks where no such institutions currently exist. “For the annual scheme 2026–27, an outlay of Rs 320 crore has been earmarked for the initiative.”
The department expects the phased development of these institutions to improve academic infrastructure, expand subject expertise and reduce the outmigration of students seeking quality higher education outside Bihar.
The department is also planning to integrate the state’s linguistic academies to make them comparatively more effective.
