The Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday decided to make Tribhuvan University (TU) the first central university of the country. Central universities are academic bodies responsible for generating skilled manpower as per the developmental needs of a particular country.
At a time when the country´s oldest university is failing to meet its academic calendar and conduct examinations on time, developing it as a central body is an attempt to lift up academia, TU officials said.
According to TU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Hira Bahadur Maharjan, a committee will be formed to expand TU´s functional bodies and give full shape to the university as a central body.
The committee will include the secretary of the Ministry of Education (MoE), the chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and TU officials, said Maharjan.
“The committee will also recommend amendments to the existing TU Act 1992 if necessary,” said the VC. However, the cabinet has not set any deadline for forming the committee.
Maharjan further said it would be an honor to see TU become the first central university of the country. “We are hopeful of expanding faculties if that would prove productive for the overall development of the country,” he added.
The university currently offers more than 4,000 courses up to the PhD level, under five major faculties.
Despite promoting sports and sportspersons, the government has failed to encourage the interest of youths. So the university was further planning to establish a sports academy as well.
Similarly, the grants that TU receives from the UGC are likely to increase following Tuesday´s Cabinet decision. The facilities for TU staffers would get upgraded along with the expansion.
"There is also a possibility of opening TU-oriented regional academic centers as per the topography of the country," informed Maharjan. For instance, the university could establish an experts´ centre in the Chure range to help local folks with new techniques of cultivation, following climate change.
TU staff have been demanding since 1970 that TU be declared a central university. TU was established in 1959. Currently, there are nine universities in the country, including three established just three years ago.
(Source: Republica National daily)
