In response to the rise of disorder and inconsistency in higher education caused by various academic programs encompassing admissions, exams, and the release of results across undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil, and PhD levels, the University Grants Commission has introduced a unified academic schedule.
The grant provided by the Commission might be reduced if the university experiences delays in student admissions, teaching activities, exam administration, or result publication. The implementation of this calendar by the Commission commenced in the initial week of Bhadra.
In the last moments of Shrawan, the National Examination Board made the results of the 12th-grade exams publicly available. Correspondingly, universities have issued calls for admissions at the undergraduate level. As outlined in the Commission's predetermined calendar, universities have been instructed to carry out tasks like admissions, teaching, exam management, and result announcement following the provided guidelines. Dev Raj Adhikari, the Chairman of the Commission, disclosed the implementation of a unified academic calendar across universities, commencing from the month of Bhadra. The Commission has also dispatched reports, including the formulation of the National Academic Calendar for higher education, to the universities. "The complete Commission has endorsed the calendar, and it will be unveiled within a few days," he remarked, further emphasizing that "universities are required to conduct their academic operations accordingly."
Adhikari, the Commission's Chairman, pointed out that an evaluation of the calendar's implementation status would also take place. He noted, "Should tasks such as admissions, exams, and result announcements fail to meet deadlines, the Commission holds the power to suspend funding to universities." The report additionally highlights the formation of an elevated committee, comprising former Vice-Chancellors and university/institution heads, tasked with appraising the academic calendar, assessment endeavors, and offering suggestions. "This high-level committee will assess the submitted report, ensure the appropriate utilization of allocated university grants, calculate and indicate progress, and subsequently present its findings, along with their opinions, to the university's Vice-Chancellor (Education Minister) and Chancellor (Prime Minister) through the Ministry of Education," states the report.
Under the leadership of the presiding officer, a recommendation task group was established to oversee the implementation of the unified academic schedule in higher education. The calendar has been devised following the guidance of this task group. In the Commission's released calendar, a stipulation has been included stating that student results must be disclosed within 60 days from the conclusion of the examination. This calendar's applicability extends to all universities and higher education institutions that follow either the annual or semester system of education.
An exclusive schedule for school-level education has been introduced by the National Examination Board. After the announcement of the 12th-grade exam results in Shrawan, educational institutions are permitted to hold entrance exams and accept student admissions until Asoj. Similarly, in the month of Kartik, student registration will commence, followed by the commencement of classes from the beginning of Mangsir following the unified calendar. The Commission has highlighted that universities also have the option to adapt their own schedules in alignment with the integrated calendar. Regarding admissions, diverse fields such as Medical, Engineering, Management, Science, and Technology will enjoy the flexibility to organize their academic program timetables, thereby accommodating variances both above and below the standard schedule.
The national calendar stipulates that the semester system's conclusion should be reached by Falgun, followed by the final examination scheduled for Chaitra. The University has the option to establish an internal calendar to ensure adherence to the designated time frame within the annual system. For the annual system, the timeline has been set to commence teaching on Mangshir 1, conclude the curriculum by Bhadra, and wrap up examinations by Asoj 15.
Even within this framework, the outcomes should be disclosed within a span of two months. Students have voiced their dissatisfaction over the extended duration of up to 6 years to finish a level that should ideally take 4 years, owing to the disorder in educational program management within higher education institutions, including universities.
Before the 12th-grade results are announced, universities admit students. They continue accepting admissions until the month of Falgun/Chaitra, and despite the passage of several study months, examinations can be occasionally postponed. At Tribhuvan University, the bachelor's level results were only disclosed 18 months after the conclusion of the examination. Similarly, after completing their studies, students encountered the challenge of waiting for up to a year to be able to participate in exams, a situation observed across various fields of study. Universities have explained that the disruption caused by the COVID pandemic led to delays in the admission procedure, exam conduct, and result publication in the previous year. Even in the post-COVID period, university officials stress the importance of the calendar in reorganizing the disrupted schedule.
The Commission's Chairman remarked that the academic calendar is indispensable due to the diminishing credibility of higher education. The country hosts a total of 13 federal universities, 1,550 affiliated campuses, provincial universities, 6 health science institutes, and approximately 1,500 higher education institutions, collectively serving over 500,000 students.
