Yalna Bidyapeeth, Nepal’s old academic institution, awaits reforms

By Nagendra Kumar Karna,Mahottari, May 31: Stakeholders have expressed concern over the dilapidated condition of Yagyabalkya Laxmi Narayan Bidyapeeth (Yalna Bidyapeeth) in Matihani, Mahottari. The institution, originally established to promote Sanskrit and Vedic education, is now struggling to remain relevant and operational. Stakeholders have urged the campus administration to implement timely reforms while reflecting on its historic legacy.

The Progressive Professors' Organisation has launched a campaign titled 'Come, Let's Start the Dialogue', aiming to revive and preserve the campus and push for modernisation to meet present-day needs.

Hari Prasad Mandal, Mayor of Matihani Municipality, remarked that although a Sanskrit campus exists within the municipality, its presence is not felt, highlighting a lack of coordination.

 He refuted claims that the municipality has not supported the campus, stating,

"In the past, we even allocated a budget for the college's development, but the funds got frozen due to poor coordination on the campus’s part."

To support the college’s revitalisation, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) is currently being prepared for submission to the Indian Embassy through Member of Parliament Mahanths Thakur. Mayor Mandal stressed the need to adapt the institution to modern times.

"We live in an era of technology, yet our university still relies on manual administrative work," he said, suggesting the need for a tech-integrated administrative system.

During the interaction programme, Professor Hem Narayan Lal Karn stated that Yalna Bidyapeeth is one of the four earliest campuses established since the inception of higher education in the country. He admitted that due to institutional apathy and lack of cooperation, he has been unable to implement many intended reforms.

He lamented the decline in staff, from 28 employees in the past to just eight today, which has added to basic operations.

"Although we have attempted to modernise the campus, staff shortages have made progress difficult," he said, urging stakeholders and local government bodies to extend their cooperation.

"We have the technological resource like computers, a printer, fax machine, projector, three laptops, and an online attendance system but we lack operators to run them," he added.

Yalna Campus is currently facing serious challenges, including a dwindling student population, inadequate physical infrastructure, lack of hostels and faculty housing, poor library facilities and declining academic standards.

Ishwari Poudel, head teacher of Nepal's first Sanskrit school, Rajkiya Sanskrit Secondary School, noted that the school was once operational up to grade 12 but has now been limited to grade 10 due to the deteriorating situation. 

Following the government's new education policy, which mandated a cultural campus in every region, Yalna Bidyapeeth, originally run by private sources in Janakpur, was merged with Laxmi Narayan College in Matihani and began operating from a separate building in 1973.

Initially affiliated with Tribhuvan University, Yalna Bidyapeeth has been functioning as an affiliate campus of Mahendra Sanskrit University (now Nepal Sanskrit University) since 1986.

The roots of the institution date back to 1744, when King Hemkarn Sen of Makwanpur established the Laxmi Narayan Math. Under a Peepal tree, the learned sage Tasmaya Baba began teaching Sanskrit. By 1893, the campus offered formal instruction in grammar, Vedanta and the Ramayana.