KATHMANDU: A study conducted by the National Vigilance Centre has exposed anomalies and irregularities prevailing in the oldest university in the country --Tribhuvan University (TU) -- including shirking of duties by lecturers and professors of the University.

Lecturers and professors recruited in permanent positions in the 59-year-old university were found to be taking lesser hours of classes than prescribed in the curriculum.

Teachers here were found to have taken around three to four hours of classes in a week in contrary to at least 12 to 15 hours of classes to be taken in a week.

A team coordinated by the Superintendent of Police Ranjan Bista of the Centre had conducted a study at the University and the colleges affiliated to it from April to mid-June earlier this year.

Centre's Information Officer Dalnath Aryal shared that teachers in the collages under TU such as Engineering College in Pulchowk, Tri-Chandra College, Amrit Science Campus among others were enjoying all state facilities and perks despite the dismal discharge of their duties.

Furthermore, as Information Officer Aryal shared that a majority of the teachers in TU would submit an application seeking TU's permission for them to allow teaching in other academic institutions and the TU Monitoring Directorate easily issues permissions to them which, as Aryal argued, encourages irregularities prevailing in the University.

The permanent teachers in TU teaching lesser hours and recruitment of teachers on contract basis cause financial burden on the University, asserted Aryal, adding that there were altogether 7,920 permanent teachers of whom 1,410 were also found to have professional engagement elsewhere.

Moreover, resignation tendered by the teachers have not yet been approved, leading to confusion about the exact number of vacant seats at TU.

The study has also brought to fore the fact that teachers were not punctual and would quit their professional engagement with the University without obtaining approval.

Resignations rendered by a total of 33 professors in the last two decades were yet to be approved. As a result, it is difficult to ascertain the number of vacancies.

Also, it has been exposed that the colleges under TU were arbitrarily providing monitoring assistance to the students under various pretext incurring millions of financial loss to the University.

The growing influences of politics and vested interests among the teachers, staffers and the students have also contributed to the irregularities in the University, the study concludes.