CHITWAN: The Agriculture and Forestry University has halted student admissions in private colleges following the protests by professors and students.

The university had written to the Office of the Dean to stop student admission process in all private colleges affiliated to it.

Dean of the University’s Institute of Agriculture, Jaya Prakash Dutta, said that a meeting of the admission committee on Tuesday took a decision to this effect on the instructions of university authorities.

It is stated that student admission in private colleges affiliated to the university under the Institute of Forestry would also be halted.

However, according to the Dean, students applying for admission to BSc Agriculture and Forestry programmes at the university’s campus in Rampur and other constituent colleges can sit for the entrance exams.

The Supreme Court has fixed January 10, 2019 as the date for hearing of the case to decide whether or not the university could provide affiliation to private colleges. The apex court’s verdict on this case would decide the fate of the admission process at private colleges, the university has stated.

Students and professors had protested after the university granted affiliations to eight private colleges. A meeting of the Council of Ministers had decided to cancel the affiliation under pressure of the vehement protest by students and professors alike.

Private colleges getting affiliation from the university had moved the Supreme Court following the government’s injunction. The Supreme Court had issued a stay order to not implement the government directive and the university had interpreted this as 'go ahead' signal for student admissions at private colleges.

Although the students have filed a writ challenging the university’s decision of providing affiliation to the private colleges, the Supreme Court has ruled that it need not issue stay order in response to this writ.

But the university chose to stop the admission process at private colleges and wait for Supreme Court's decision until January 10.