Part-time lecturers shut down TU offices

KATHMANDU, June 20 — Tribhuvan University (TU), Nepal's oldest and largest university, is no stranger to being shut down due to political interference and student protests. But this time, it's been closed for over two weeks because of protests led by part-time professors.


Suraj Sejuwal, spokesperson for the Nepal Students Union (NSU) — the student wing of the Nepali Congress — told The Himalayan Times that their organization has a strict code of conduct against locking the university. “As far as I know, part-time professors are behind the current lockout. We don’t support vandalism or locking the university premises. It goes against our code of conduct, which we strictly follow,” he said.


He also added that even when NSU members vandalised the Vice-Chancellor’s office recently, they supported legal action against those involved.


On the other hand, Deepak Raj Joshi, President of the Free Students Union (FSU), defended earlier actions taken by students to lock and vandalise TU buildings. He said students were protesting the commercialisation of undergraduate education and accused the university of deliberately delaying graduate admissions to benefit private colleges. “We were demanding affordable education and student-friendly policies,” he explained.


Joshi confirmed that four key TU offices — those of the Vice-Chancellor, Rector, Registrar, and TU Service Commission — have been shut for the past two weeks. He said the current protest is being led by part-time professors who are opposing the university’s recent move to hire 120 faculty members, including associate professors, through a fast-track process without traditional written exams.


The part-time lecturers' association has called the recruitment process unconstitutional and claimed it’s designed to appoint people with political ties or personal connections. They’ve issued a six-point demand and say the university will remain locked until these are fulfilled. One of their key demands is that new professors be appointed through a proper merit-based process, including exams.


Joshi also questioned the legitimacy of the current acting Vice-Chancellor, Khadga KC, saying he should be appointed or replaced through a fair selection process based on merit and a vision plan.


In response, Acting Vice-Chancellor KC said the protest has not disrupted TU’s overall operations, thanks to digital systems and decentralised branches. “While I respect the right to protest, locking down the university isn’t the right approach — especially when some demands are unrealistic,” he said. He added that efforts are underway to resolve the issue through a dialogue committee.


KC defended the fast-track recruitment process, arguing that it’s a common global practice and candidates still need a PhD to qualify for assistant professor roles. “There’s nothing wrong with the process. Even our neighbouring countries follow similar systems,” he said.

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