KATHMANDU: After good four years, Tribhuvan University on Friday observed its 33rd Convocation Ceremony amidst a function organised at TU premises in Kirtipur.

However, Chancellor of the TU and caretaker Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal did not attend the ceremony. This is the first time in TU's history that the chancellor did not show up for the ceremony. The convocation could not be held for three years because of adverse political situation in the country. Though a total of 24,351 students were eligible to take part in the event, only 1,352 attended the event.

During the period, 20,212 students of the Bachelors level and 4,109 students of Masters level graduated from the TU. Likewise, 30 students were conferred a PhD degree during the period, according to the TU.

Pro-chancellor of TU Renu Kumari Yadav conferred the awards to the top students in nine different faculties. Prof Dr Hafiz GA Siddiqui, Vice-Chancellor of North-South University, Bangladesh, was the chief guest of the ceremony.

Vice-chancellor Dr Madhav Sharma said the university had failed to function as expected due to the less priority of the government. "The government should give priority to higher education and increase budget to modernise the university systems," he said. He also thanked the student unions for ending the stalemate, stretching for over a month, and cooperating with the TU.