Minister Pun pushes to end PM’s grip on universities

By Raman Paudel,Kathmandu, Nov. 22: Minister of Education, Science, and Technology Mahabir Pun has initiated a process to amend the law, prohibiting the prime minister from automatically becoming the chancellor of universities. 

On Friday, Minister Pun formed a task force led by Prof. Dr. Dev Raj Adhikari, chairman of the University Grants Commission, to amend the laws related to higher education.

The task force includes former Vice-Chancellor of Tribhuvan University Kedar Bhakta Mathema, and the vice-chancellors of various other universities.

According to Dr. Adhikari, the task force will hold consultations with experts, concerned bodies and stakeholders and prepare an initial draft within a few days.

Talking to The Rising Nepal, Dr. Adhikari said that the task force has begun its work and will prepare a complete draft of the bill within a month from now. The bill related to amending the existing education-related laws was first introduced in December 2024.

However, the integrated Higher Education Bill has been stalled after the Ministry of Law suggested that it be moved forward only after adequate discussions with stakeholders. 

However, the government formed after the Gen-Z movement has reinitiated the process to amend the law.

“Our task force has begun its work to prepare a draft of the bill that will recommend that the government enact a new law. The task force will soon decide on several issues, which will make it easier for the government to introduce new legislation,” stated Adhikari.

According to him, the task force will also clarify the provision regarding the appointment of the chancellor. The existing provision—where the Prime Minister serves as Chancellor of the university and the Education Minister serves as Vice-Chancellor—will be amended, and the Chancellor is expected to be selected through an open competitive process.

In 2018, the Higher Education Commission suggested that universities be governed by a Board of Trustees composed of academics, instead of having the Prime Minister as Chancellor and the Education Minister as Vice-Chancellor. 

However, opposing that system, the previous government proposed a bill that allowed the Prime Minister to govern Tribhuvan University as Chancellor and the Education Minister to govern other universities as Chancellor. 

Similarly, that bill allowed Chief Ministers to serve as Chancellors of provincial universities.

Meanwhile, Adhikari infromed that the bill prepared in December 2024 would be revised and updated. Currently, universities are being operated under their own independent acts.

However, the new government wants to operate universities under a unified act, and has initiated the process accordingly.

According to Adhikari, the new bill will classify universities and mandate open competition for the appointment of Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors. The bill also includes provisions requiring colleges affiliated with foreign institutions to be regulated by the University Grants Commission.

Officials from the Ministry of Education stated that after receiving the draft from the task force, the Ministry would table the new bill in the National Assembly before the election scheduled for March 5, 2026. “If the situation is unfavourable, the Ministry will amend the law through an ordinance,” said a Ministry official.

Meanwhile, Minister Pun has been holding discussions with experts whether the law could be amended before the election.