The education sector is reeling under the lack of vision and dirty politics of partisan interests. The Bill on amending the Education Act has been delayed in the House of Representatives (HoR) and the political parties are jockeying to get their supporters appointed to key posts. Some of the top academic posts that remain vacant are Chief of the Controller of Examinations, Deputy controller; Vice Chancellor and Rector of Tribhuvan University; heads of two research centres (RECAST and CERID); in addition to vacancies in four TU faculties of management, education, medicine and law. Similarly, the top slots in Mahendra Sanskrit University, Pokhara University and Purbanchal University are also unoccupied. On the other hand, the heads of the Council of Technical Education and Vocational Training and the Higher Secondary Education Board have not been replaced even after the expiry of their tenures a month ago.

The rationale behind political appointments for academic posts is hard to fathom. As these appointments have a direct bearing on the future of millions of students, the authorities concerned should rise above their partisan considerations and fill in the positions on the basis of competence, moral character, commitment, seniority and understanding of the subject matter. Ad hoc political appointees with little background in academics often fail to spell out the real needs of the institutions they chair. Hence the appointments should be made strictly on the basis of competence and merit. The HoR too should not dither from carrying out its responsibilities on such important matters.