While the government has been claiming that there will be no political interference in the selection of the Vice-chancellor of Tribhuvan University, stakeholders have expressed doubts about the selection process.
Addressing a session at the Nepal Literature Festival in Pokhara on Monday, they emphasized the need to eliminate political interference to enhance the quality of higher education in the country. Professor Dr Sanjeev Upreti said that appointing a capable academic as the head of TU alone wouldn’t be sufficient to enhance the quality of higher education. “We need to introspect on TU’s purpose and for whom the university is. It is imperative to assess whether it has fulfilled its objectives,” Dr Upreti said. “If TU is falling short of its objectives, we must identify the causes and find solutions to them.”
Dr Upreti said curbing political power plays, localizing the curriculum, initiating life skills education, and ensuring fair remuneration for teaching faculty are essential for TU’s improvement. “Despite spending 25 years teaching at TU after obtaining my PhD, I have realized that I have got more real life lessons from the streets than the university,” he said. “Our society harbors significant discrimination. But we don’t know about it in the university.”
He lamented that the prevalent practice of students, staff, and faculty being affiliated with political parties are undermining academic independence and fostering a decline in university standards. “Students don’t see teachers but as party cadres and vice versa. How can we expect academic independence in situations like these?” he asked.
Similarly, Dr Kusum Shakya, the dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, said TU should be transformed into a board of trustees model to bring about reforms. “I anticipated that the applicant presenting the most comprehensive reform agenda would secure the position of Vice-chancellor. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case,” she remarked. “In other countries, candidates openly articulate their plans, and the most promising proposals are endorsed.”
Shakya was one of the 14 applicants who vied for the position. The recruitment committee has recommended three candidates—Prof Dr Chitra Bahadur Budhathoki, Prof Dr Tanka Nath Dhamala, and Prof Dr Keshar Jung Baral—for the Vice-chancellor position.
Tribhuvan University has provided affiliations to over 1,000 colleges nationwide. It has constituent campuses in 75 out of 77 districts—except in Manang and Mustang.
Dr Bipin Adhikari, a constitutional law expert, called for curriculum revisions to address contemporary issues. “Outdated curriculum is impeding our ability to educate students on current challenges. Teaching faculty must be experts on the subject matter that they are teaching. Otherwise, the objectives of the curriculum cannot be realized,” he added.
Adhikari underscored the need to make universities truly autonomous. He stressed the need for disciplinary measures among staff and faculty. “Initiatives like electronic attendance systems in the university were met with resistance. We cannot drive reform initiatives this way,” he added.
