Renu Kshetry

Kathmandu, January 10:

Tribhuvan University (TU) has formed a permanent body of Tribhuvan University Certificate Investigation Committee (TUCIC) in order to check fake certificates of new appointees.

“With the recent formation of the permanent body, fake certificate- holders will not get through the investigation,” Professor Dr Hari Bahadur Karki, coordinator of the TUCIC said today. “The permanent committee will check the certificates of those who have passed the TU Service Commission’s written examination. Hence, there is no way the fake certificate holders will get through,” said Karki. The TUCIC will charge Rs 1,000 from gazetted officers and Rs 500 from non-gazetted officers for investigating their certificates. The committee has already started its work by holding three meetings. The TU executive council endorsed the formation of the TUCIC which is headed by Professor Dr Hari Bahadur Karki. Its other members are Professor Dr Tirtha Mishra, lecturer Dilli Ram Upreti, deputy administrator of Employees Administration Department Parat Sarathi Bhattarai and deputy secretary of Curriculum Development Centre at the TU Ram Bahadur Bakhati.

The TU is the first government-funded organisation to have its own fake certificate investigation committee which will forward suspected cases to the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA). Before the formation of the permanent body, a temporary committee formed on November 2001 used to keep tab on certificates. It had asked the employees to submit their certificates till the second week of March 2004 but still 200 staffers have failed to do so. The TU has now circulated a notice to students warning them against submitting fake certificates but in the absence of a strong monitoring mechanism it is impossible to check fake certificates.

“We also have plans to check the certificates of students who want to pursue higher education with fake certificates but it will depend upon the success of the permanent body,” said Karki. The temporary TUCIC has given a clean chit to 8,000 employees. The TU has 14,000 employees with 8,000 teaching members and 7,000 non-teaching employees.