Patna: Education without moral values is meaningless and teachers must make their classrooms attractive enough to bring students back, state higher education minister Sanjay Singh Tiger said on Monday, raising questions about both the erosion of social responsibility and the quality of teaching in higher education institutions.Addressing Patna University’s 110th Foundation Day celebrations at Jayaprakash Narayan Senate Hall, the minister lamented that many people in top positions in society were languishing in old-age homes because their children lacked empathy for their elders.“Education must be linked with culture and moral values. Otherwise, it will lead one nowhere,” he said, stressing that academic qualifications alone could not ensure a humane and responsible society.Turning to the challenges confronting higher education in Bihar, Tiger said the govt was working to strengthen the system by opening colleges in remote areas, filling vacant teaching posts, and improving infrastructure. However, these measures would yield little unless students attended classes and teachers delivered meaningful education.“Who will teach whom if there are no students in classes?” he asked, urging teachers to improve their performance and attract students through quality teaching.The minister also highlighted the state govt’s initiative to promote research, saying a fellowship of Rs 10,000 per month for four years had been launched for 100 women research scholars to improve research quality.Former Bihar public service commission member and retired PU English teacher Shiv Jatan Thakur attended as the distinguished guest. Former director general of police and Bihar’s chief information commissioner Vinay Kumar, a PU alumnus, was felicitated.Eleven toppers in undergraduate vocational courses received gold medals from the minister. The programme was presided over by PU vice-chancellor Ajay Kumar Singh.
