The confusion and confusion in the process of appointing the vice chancellor of Kathmandu University (KU) is a vivid example of the structural weakness and political interference prevalent in the educational administration of Nepal as a whole.

The news published in Kantipur on Sunday titled 'KU has appointed a special senate after the vice-chancellor did not recommend it' has once again made us think about the legal hurdles and shortcomings seen in the appointment of officials in the university.

It is unfortunate that the university should be a center of knowledge and is affected by unnecessary controversy, political bias and administrative ambiguity in the appointment process.

The fact that the Vice-Chancellor recommendation process in KU has not been finalized for a long time is not only a question of the autonomy of this institution but also a serious question raised on the overall management ability of Nepal's universities. Failure of the recommendation committee to present the names of eligible candidates on time is indicative of managerial incompetence. It is true that there were differences among the members of the committee, and the name of the candidate who scored the highest marks was not recommended. Adopting the option of resolving the dispute through a Senate meeting is a glaring example of procedural weakness.

Political interference in the process of appointing officials in universities has become a major problem in Nepal for some time now. According to the power equation, the vice-chancellor post of various universities is distributed among the ruling parties, which is a distortion of the education sector. Political influence is evident even in an autonomous institution like Kathmandu University. Despite repeated commitment from all parties to keep the education sector free from politics, in practice, the fact that politics has a direct influence on the selection of university leadership under one pretext or another is as clear as the sun.

Legal and structural reforms are essential to solve this problem. Adequate legal provisions are essential to make the Vice Chancellor selection process fair, transparent and binding within the time frame.
Far-reaching reforms are necessary to prevent legal confusion, unnecessary delays and political interference during the appointment of vice-chancellors and other high-ranking officials not only in Kathmandu University but also in other universities of Nepal. Especially, the tradition of appointing leaders of educational institutions according to the changing equation of power is sure to push Nepali higher education backward. Therefore, the government, which is the guardian of all, should ensure the autonomy of the university and ensure a fair selection process.

For the improvement of Nepal's higher education sector, it is necessary to adopt a policy of keeping the universities administratively and financially independent, making the leadership selection process transparent and making decisions based on academic qualifications. Otherwise, it will be difficult to prevent the university from becoming an arena of political influence. Not only the Vice-Chancellor, unnecessary disputes and shortcomings in the selection of any responsible officer of the university under any pretext are not acceptable. Therefore, stakeholders should be serious in time to prevent this from happening in the future.

– Techendra Adhikari , Biratnagar, Morang