The government has appointed university officials who were relieved of their posts through an ordinance and given them responsibilities as acting officials. After all the officials were relieved of their posts at once, the government has started assigning responsibilities until another appointment or arrangement is made. 

The government had amended the university act and given letters of relief to the officials, but after they started giving them acting responsibilities again, academics have started questioning the law, procedure and process. Criticism has started that the government has taken a hasty decision.

Education Secretary Chudamani Poudel has given appointment letters to those who were assigned responsibilities as per the decision of Prime Minister and Chancellor Balendra Shah. On 19 Baisakh, the vice-chancellor, registrar, rector, dean and other officials of universities and institutes were relieved of their posts through an ordinance. The officials who were relieved of their posts in Kathmandu, Purbanchal, Nepal Sanskrit and Tribhuvan Universities have been assigned acting positions. The dismissed member secretaries in the National Examination Board have also been reappointed. 

The government had amended the university act and given letters of dismissal to the office bearers, but after they started giving them acting responsibilities again, academics have started questioning the law, procedure and process. Criticism has started saying that the government has taken a hasty decision. The Vice Chancellor of Purbanchal University, Biju Kumar Thapaliya, who was dismissed from his post, has been given acting responsibilities. In mid-Baishakh, the Ministry of Education assigned him to handle the affairs of the university until further arrangements are made. Professor Ramesh Babu Kafle has been given responsibility as the registrar. 

Vice Chancellor Thapaliya said that an interim arrangement has been made by giving acting responsibilities to the assistant deans. ‘The chairperson and members of the Service Commission are also vacant. The government has moved forward with the appointment process. Appointments will be made soon,’ he said. Thapaliya was appointed as the Vice Chancellor on the basis of competition in 2081 Baisakh. The Selection and Recommendation Committee, coordinated by the Minister of Education, had issued the same working procedure as now to hold the appointment through competition.

Prime Minister and Chancellor Shah has appointed Controller of Examinations Hrishikesh Wagle as the acting Vice-Chancellor of Kathmandu University (KU). The Vice-Chancellor, Registrar and Deans of KU were relieved of their posts by the ordinance. The Ministry of Education has assigned responsibility to Rajiv Shrestha, who was relieved of his post as Registrar. Acting Vice-Chancellor Wagle has assigned responsibility to the relieved deans. ‘In the context of the vacancy of the Dean’s post, it is requested that the Dean be assigned the responsibility of the Dean until the appointment of the Dean is made,’ Wagle’s appointment letter states.

Except for the relieved Vice-Chancellor Achyut Wagle, all the relieved Vice-Chancellors of KU have been reappointed. The Chancellor’s Office has not disclosed the basis on which law the relieved Vice-Chancellor and Controller of Examinations were appointed. The university’s Act states that if the posts of Vice-Chancellor, Rector and Registrar are vacant in the university, a maximum of 3 months can be given to one of the Deans until another appointment is made. The Ministry of Education employees, who were assigned the responsibility as per the instructions of the Prime Minister's Office and Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel, say that the responsibilities were assigned as per the instructions of the Prime Minister's Office and Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel.

In addition to the dean, the vice-chancellor, rector, and registrar were relieved of their posts at Tribhuvan University. The Chancellor and the Prime Minister's Office have given the responsibility of acting vice-chancellor, rector, and registrar to the deans. Dean of Engineering Sushil Vajracharya has been given the responsibility of vice-chancellor, Dean of the Faculty of Management Mahananda Chalise has been given the responsibility of rector, and Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology Shankar Khanal has been given the responsibility of rector. The professors themselves are unaware of the criteria on the basis of which they were assigned the responsibility of acting among the 9 deans. Khanal, who was removed from his post by the Tribhuvan University Executive Council, has been given the responsibility of rector. There is a provision in the Act that the Chancellor appoints the rector and registrar on the recommendation of the vice-chancellor.

Nepal Sanskrit University Vice-Chancellor Dhaneshwor Nepal and Registrar Madhav Adhikari were relieved of their posts. The Chancellor's Office has given the responsibility of Vice-Chancellor to Professor Sudhan Kumar Poudel. The responsibility of Registrar has been given to the official. A professor said that the government has assigned the responsibilities of Vice-Chancellor and Registrar to suit itself rather than any law, statute, or regulation. 

Nepal Professors' Association President Ramesh Kumar Joshi says that the government has arbitrarily interfered in higher education rather than the law, standards, and regulations. 'Why was he removed yesterday? There is no answer to that either. Why was he appointed again today ? The government has not been able to answer this either,' he said, 'The government has insulted the academic sector. An attempt was made to further destroy higher education. It was seen that it was running on whims and whims.' Professor Joshi reiterated that the government is more person-centered than law, standards, and regulations.

A joint secretary said that National Examination Board Member Secretary Jang Bahadur Aryal, who was relieved of his post by the ordinance, has been given the responsibility to work as Member Secretary again. Member Secretary is a position appointed by the Council of Ministers from among the senior employees of the board. Mahesh Bhattarai was dismissed from the post of member secretary of the CTEVT, which is of a similar nature. Bhattarai has been complaining of injustice. Vice-Chairman Mohammad Safiullah, who received a political appointment, has also resigned from the post after being criticized for not removing him.

In the Far West, Pokhara, Agriculture and Forestry, Midwest, and Nepal Open Universities, where office bearers were removed, the government has given other professors the responsibility of acting to run the affairs. Hemraj Pant, former vice-chancellor of Sudurpaschim University, said that he was confused about the law and procedure according to which appointments were made in different ways for each university. "Sometimes, those who were removed from their posts have been reappointed. Sometimes, new ones have been appointed voluntarily," he said.

218 applications to become vice-chancellors

The government has also moved forward the process of appointing vice-chancellors of universities where office bearers were removed, assigning acting responsibilities. According to the Ministry of Education and Sports, 218 applications have been received to become vice-chancellors of 8 universities. Online applications were invited for the posts of Vice Chancellors of Tribhuvan University, Purbanchal, Pokhara, Lumbini Buddhist, Agriculture and Forestry, Midwest, Sudurpaschim and Rajarshi Janak Universities simultaneously on 25 Baisakh.

An arrangement has been made to allow one person to apply for the post of Vice Chancellor of a maximum of two universities. ‘Some have applied for both. We are verifying the applications. After verification, the applications will be approved and a short list will be made public,’ said a source close to the Vice Chancellor Selection and Recommendation Committee.