Contrary to his frequent public statements that varsities should never become places for political appointment, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is found to have influenced the Tribhuvan University authority to appoint one of his close relatives as the dean of one of the lucrative faculties. Bhattarai is the ex-officio chancellor of the university.
The Tribhuvan University Board on Monday night appointed Chirak Shova Tuladhar, sister-in-law of Bhattarai (sister of Hisila Yami), as the dean of the Faculty of Science. The Forestry Faculty top berth has been allocated to the Nepali Congress-aligned Nepal Democratic Teachers’ Association (NDTA) while the Institute of Medicine (IoM) captainship has been given to the CPN-UML-close Nepal Progressive Teacher’s Association. Prof Narendra Chaudhary from the NDTA has become the dean of the Forestry Faculty while Prof Dr Dharma Kanta Baskota has been appointed the IoM dean. The three faculties are considered most lucrative in TU.
The Tribhuvan University has flouted its norms while appointing Tuladhar. To be the dean, one should either be a Professor or hold the PhD degree or both. But the associate professor has got only the Master’s in Science.
“The decision was taken at the chancellor’s behest,” said a senior official at the university, adding that she got the post despite serious objections from the higher authority. Even members of the UCPN (Maoist)-aligned Professors’ Association Nepal are dissatisfied with the decision.
