Education is the strongest foundation of modern development, and teachers are the strongest foundation of education. Roads, buildings, technology, industries, and commerce may transform a nation's outward appearance, but education alone has the power to shape human consciousness, character, judgment, work ethic, and the future of a nation. For this reason, enlightened countries around the world regard education not as an expense, but as a long-term investment. When education is weak, public administration, justice, healthcare, the economy, research, culture, and democracy all become weak. When education is strong, even poor nations become full of potential; when education deteriorates, even prosperous nations begin to hollow out from within.
Nepal's recent political changes have generated new hope among its people. It is natural for citizens to place expectations on young leadership. A young Prime Minister, a young Minister of Education, and emerging political forces must surely be giving serious thought to making the education sector effective, dignified, and globally competitive. However, educational reform cannot be limited to constructing buildings, revising curricula, adopting digital technologies, or improving examination systems. Teachers are at the heart of education. If teachers are insecure, disrespected, demoralized, and fearful about their future, expecting them to deliver world-class education is fundamentally unjust.
The history of pensions in Nepal goes back many decades. According to prevailing historical understanding, initial pension arrangements for government employees existed even during the Rana era, and successive governments later formalized and expanded those provisions. Even before the establishment of universities, institutions of higher learning such as Tri-Chandra College had begun considering post-service security for their faculty members. Following the establishment of Tribhuvan University, institutional arrangements concerning employment, retirement, gratuity, and pensions for university faculty and staff evolved in a more systematic manner. Even today, Tribhuvan University's administrative structure includes a Teachers and Staff Pension and Gratuity Section responsible for retirement notices, records, pensions, gratuities, and other retirement-related benefits.
Therefore, the demand for pensions by Tribhuvan University professors is not a new luxury or privilege. It is a demand rooted in university tradition, justice, equality, and dignity in old age. The professors currently protesting are not asking the state to impose a new burden on the public treasury. Their central argument is straightforward: the universities own internal resources, savings, funds, assets, and institutional management should be responsibly mobilized to establish a fair system of post-retirement security. Before claiming that the university lacks resources, it must provide a transparent accounting of the resources it already possesses.
If there are assets, funds, internal revenues, and government grants, yet no long-term planning, political will, or sense of justice, then the problem is not one of resources but of vision.
Some may wonder why professors are fighting so hard for pensions. In reality, this is not about fighting for privilege; it is about the right to live with dignity in the later years of life. After dedicating three decades to the university through labor, time, scholarship, research, teaching, and intellectual pursuit, forcing teachers to face insecurity at the end of their careers is a matter of shame for a democratic state. Teachers devote their youth to preparing the nation's human capital; in return, it is only just-not charitable-for the nation to provide them with basic security in old age.
More importantly, pensions are not merely benefits for retired professors; they are also a policy instrument for attracting talented young people to university service. Today, many of the country's brightest students increasingly seek opportunities abroad, enter the private sector, or pursue other careers. If the message is that a lifetime devoted to academia offers no security in old age, why would highly qualified individuals choose university service? Without top talent entering universities, research declines, teaching deteriorates, students suffer, and ultimately the nation itself is weakened. Thus, the pension issue is not only about senior professors; it is about the future intellectual strength of teachers, students, and the nation as a whole.
Tribhuvan University is Nepal's oldest and most influential university. It has produced the country's administrators, judges, physicians, engineers, teachers, politicians, journalists, writers, researchers, and policymakers. Countless individuals serving the nation at every level of public life today are products of this institution. To weaken such a university is to weaken Nepal's intellectual backbone. A university's reputation is not sustained merely through graduation ceremonies, buildings, administrative appointments, or international agreements. It is sustained by the morale of its teachers, the trust of its students, and the institution's commitment to fairness.
Recent reports have raised questions about Tribhuvan University's pension fund, study leave practices, and financial discipline. For example, news reports indicate that the university has recovered funds associated with the misuse of study leave and deposited those amounts into the university's pension fund. Such incidents demonstrate two important realities: first, financial discipline within the university is essential; second, it is possible to strengthen the pension fund through the responsible mobilization of internal resources. Misconduct must be investigated and abuse prevented. However, using a few irregularities as justification to deny the legitimate rights of all honest teachers is not justice. Reform should not mean stripping away rights; it should mean promoting transparency, accountability, and equitable distribution.
It would be a mistake to interpret the current movement of professors solely as an economic demand. This movement represents the human rights of individuals in old age. Human civilization recognizes old age as a stage of life deserving of respect, security, and support. Nepali culture itself accords teachers the highest regard, expressing the ideals of "Mother is divine, Father is divine, and Teacher is divine." Yet if teachers face insecurity in old age, that represents a betrayal of those very values. A society that reveres teachers in principle must not condemn them to indignity in retirement.
The state and university administration must approach this issue not through strategies of delay, exhaustion, or division, but through a commitment to solutions. First, a transparent accounting of Tribhuvan University's pension funds, fixed deposits, internal revenues, assets, and liabilities should be made public. Second, a fair transitional plan should be developed for current employees, those nearing retirement, and retired faculty and staff. Third, the university can establish a contribution-based pension system that remains institutionally secure for the future. Fourth, pension policies should be linked to educational quality, research incentives, and professional commitment through a comprehensive long-term strategy.
This movement also offers lessons to other sectors: just demands can be pursued peacefully; rights can be asserted while protecting institutions; and solutions can be sought by holding the state accountable. The professors' movement is not anti-state; it is an expression of concern for the future of both the university and the nation.
The government, the Minister of Education, economic planners, university officials, and political parties should hear this voice not merely as an expression of dissatisfaction, but as both a warning and an opportunity.