Although the university purchased 5,500 new gowns this year, the number of people attending the convocation is 16,380. There is a provision that a student can purchase three gowns, one for each student and two for each parent. This figure is enough to understand that not everyone attending the convocation will receive a new gown.
What you should know
Long queues have been seen at the store branch of the Office of the Controller of Examinations, Balkhu for the past few days. The office has distributed gowns to around 13,000 people for their convocation ceremonies in the last three days alone.
Pooja Tiruwa, a resident of Itahari, was in line to get her gown after paying a deposit of Rs 1,500. She had come to Kathmandu to be consecrated after completing her graduation studies and stood in line for a while before getting her gown, but there was no sign of excitement on her face. Because the size of the gown was too big. She complained, ‘The gown is very old, the size is also big, if you wear a saree, it will cover you completely.’
Even though the university purchased 5,500 new gowns this year, the number of people participating in the convocation is 16,380. There is a provision that a student can buy one gown and two for each parent. This figure is enough to understand that not everyone participating in the convocation ceremony gets a new gown.
Even though they get the gown, many have complained that it is not the right size, is old and has some tears. Sundar Bhattarai of Butwal had arrived in Kathmandu four days in advance, fearing that he would not get the gown.
A graduate of the Faculty of Management, he said that it is impractical to give the same size gown to different faculties and students. Showing the cap he received, he said, ‘The cap is old and torn. When I tried to exchange it, they said it did not fit, now I am forced to wear this one.’
He asks, ‘If the university adopts different curricula and evaluation systems for different faculties, why is everyone wearing the same size for the convocation dress?’ Bhattarai said that he was saddened by the additional expenses of accommodation, food and transportation when he came to Kathmandu. Swastika Pandey from Butwal also shared a similar experience. A graduate of the Faculty of Management, she said, ‘All students have different physical structures. How can one size fit everyone?’
The experience of all the students who came to get the gown was not only negative. Khemraj Awasthi, who graduated from Shankardev Campus, was happy to get the new gown. But he said that the cap did not fit him. He said with a laugh, ‘One does not fit the other. No matter what, the desire to be ordained has to be fulfilled.’
Dawa Sherpa, co-controller of the Office of the Controller of Examinations, said that 5,500 gowns have been purchased for this year and they are available in only two sizes, medium and normal. ‘It is not possible to make gowns according to the size of all students,’ Sherpa said, ‘Two sizes usually fit everyone. As an exception, some fall above the knees, some reach the bottom.’
He said that since the number of students is evaluated every year, some new ones are added and some old ones are used, so students can get any gown, new or old. After returning the gown that was taken after paying a deposit of Rs 1,500, the office will deduct a fee of Rs 300 and refund the remaining amount.
