The Bihar state government has changed a law that previously disqualified Indians with degrees from accredited foreign colleges from applying for government posts. The General Administration Department (GAD) was consulted by the Education Department over the validity of degrees held by applicants from Bihar from Nepal's Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University.
"It has been decided that an Indian citizen, including a native of Bihar, possessing a valid degree from a recognised foreign university, will now be eligible for applying for a Bihar government job," the GAD said in a recent notification.
Intermediate, senior secondary, higher secondary examinations of the approved boards in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal will also be accepted for the jobs if the education has been pursued through the 'regular mode', Additional Chief Secretary (Education) Dipak Singh told PTI.
The official promised that a gazette notification would soon be published. He explained that for the moment, the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) does not regard the high school diploma or other degrees obtained through online or distance learning to be equivalent.
The GAD stated that it would only recognise legitimate degrees from international institutions that have been approved by the AIU in addition to the appropriate national authorities. The association compares various courses given by Indian universities with the courses, syllabi, standards, and credits of other universities.
In order to be admitted to higher degree programmes in Indian universities, degrees or diplomas granted by universities in India and abroad that have been recognised by the University Grants Commission must be recognised.
A Health Department proposal that allowed a Bihar resident with an MBBS degree from a foreign nation to be eligible for employment in government hospitals and medical institutes in the state was accepted by the government in 2015.
