The committee chaired by former Vice-Chancellor Suresh Raj Sharma has interviewed the candidates on February 3 but has not been able to recommend 3 names for a month.
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A special meeting (Senate) has been convened after the Vice-Chancellor Search and Recommendation Committee failed to recommend the name of the Vice-Chancellor of Kathmandu University (KU). A Senate meeting has been called for Monday.
The Senate meeting constituted a recommendation committee chaired by former Vice-Chancellor Sureshraj Sharma. Although the committee interviewed the candidates on February 3, it has not been able to recommend 3 names to the Prime Minister and Chancellor KP Sharma Oli for a month. The time given to the recommendation committee of KU to bring the report to the Chancellor with the marks of the candidates is over. It is understood that there is no consensus within the committee, and it is not possible to bring it," said a member of the Prime Minister's Secretariat.
The Prime Minister's Office has stated that the list of candidates has not been received despite giving a deadline to recommend names within the third week of February. Acting Vice-Chancellor of KU Achyut Wagle said that discussions were held with the Prime Minister and Chancellor KP Sharma Oli about holding a Senate meeting. Let's try to decide through the entire recommendation committee. Otherwise, we have discussed with the Prime Minister that we should reach a decision from the Senate meeting," he said.
Since the first week of January, there is no vice chancellor in KU, even the executive council is not complete. Wagle said that there is no possibility of any other agenda in the special senate as the executive council has not been completed. In the meeting scheduled for Monday at the Prime Minister's Office, the senators will discuss why the Vice-Chancellor recommendation could not be made and the possibility of forming another committee after canceling the selection committee.
KU professors along with the candidates who have applied for the vice-chancellorship have been asking to recommend the name as soon as possible. There is a provision to recommend the names of 3 people who get the highest marks in the ongoing procedure for the search and recommendation of the Vice-Chancellor and 1 of them will be appointed by the Vice-Chancellor. According to the procedure, the committee called for applications and started the process of finding and recommending the vice chancellor. In which 20 professors applied.
10 of them were shortlisted by evaluating 30 points. Former Vice-Chancellor Bhola Thapa, Acting Vice-Chancellor Achyut Wagle, Former Registrar Subodh Sharma, Former Dean Rajendra Koju, Former Dean Kanhaiya Jha, Dean Janardhan Lamichhane, Dean Balchandra Luintel, Professor Vedamani Dahal, Shyam Narayan Lab and Vibhutiranjan Jha were selected in the list of 10 people. They were interviewed along with evaluation of action plan, thinking paper in 70 full marks. According to the
procedure, there is a provision that the names of 3 people who get the best marks should be recommended even in the interview. "On the basis of merit, the names of 3 people who get the highest marks should be recommended, but the committee is confused," said one of the contestants. They had earlier written to the Chancellor raising questions about the impartiality of the committee's coordinator Sharma. According to
sources, coordinator Sharma, former vice-chancellor Thapa, and members former secretary Janardan Nepal and doctor Arjun Karki wanted to recommend Acting Vice-Chancellor Wagle as the first number from the beginning, so the committee came to a deadlock. The members of the committee have been meeting several times for recommendations. But since the differences could not be resolved, Sharma also asked the Prime Minister to call a Senate meeting and reach a decision, according to sources close to him.
After the formation of the Congress-UML coalition government, the process of appointing vice-chancellors in Agriculture and Forestry, Pokhara, Sanskrit and Kathmandu universities started. In the ruling coalition, Agriculture and Forestry and Pokhara UML and Sanskrit and Kathmandu University are part of the Congress. A leader of the ruling party said that even though the Congress nominated Wagle, Sharma, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of KU, took a stand in Thapa's name.
Sharma has been giving public statements that a vice-chancellor who has high academic ability, who can gather financial resources to run the university, who can compete internationally, who understands and solves the problems of professors, staff, students and the university, is needed in KU. The KU Professors' Association has also issued an appeal to appoint the Vice-Chancellor as soon as possible. The association has warned that the absence of a vice-chancellor may have a far-reaching effect on the university.
