Students’ interest to enrol themselves in the central campus of Tribhuvan University, especially under the semester system, seems to be on the wane. The campus earlier used to fix quota, given the huge number of students wanting to get enrolled here, but of late, there are only few takers.
TU introduced semester system in it central campus last year in view of making it a centre for excellence. However, the bid seems to have failed. Number of applicants for Master’s in Education is said to be the lowest. Of the total 1,500 seats determined for this faculty, only 700 students have applied this year.
Shivasaran Maharjan, Chief of Education Faculty, said though it is believed that TU’s quality of education has gone up, the varsity has failed to attract students as it would have liked.
Strikes and shutdowns over petty issues and debate whether the semester system is good enough have discouraged students from enrolling, said Maharjan.
In Humanities Faculty, only two students have applied for political science whereas only four have applied for population studies.
Nepali Central Department, which earlier used to see around 300 students in a year, has received only 55 applications, of which only 44 have made it to the class.
Parashmani Ghimire, a student leader, said that the minimum 80 per cent attendance requirement under the semester system could also have discouraged many a student from enrolling.