Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, January 14

Minister for Education and Sports Hari Bahadur Basnet today inaugurated the general meeting of the council of Tribhuvan University.

Co-chancellor of the university, minister Basnet, on the occasion, stressed on the need of keeping education sector free from politics.

Vice-chancellor of the university Prof Govinda Prasad Sharma said that TU is juxtapositioning on easily available and quality education, social justice and economic self-dependence.

"We have to face difficulties as newly established universities have not been able to share the pressure on Tribhuvan University and the grant from the government is being reduced in comparison to the growing number of students," he said.

Dr Dayananda Bajracharya, the vice-chancellor of Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology said that the university is losing popularity because of the lack of commitment on the part of some teachers.

TU council member Prof Shiva Prasad Dhaubadel said rather than being proud of the glorious past, the Tribhuvan University should concentrate on reforms

so that it could compete with the new universities.

"We have not been able to compete with "new-born" universities. This is the high time to self-criticism," he said.

Mohammed Habibullah, head of the central department of political sciences, said that the government is spending huge sum on arms and security while its contribution to the education sector has been decreasing.

Balkrishna Shrestha, another TU council member, representing the industrial sector, said the university should utilise the benevolence of the industrialists for the development of the education sector.