Wrong approach:

The major political parties have distributed the four universities — Tribhuvan, Pokhara, Purbanchal and Nepal Sanskrit — as if they were pieces of cake. Political meddling in education is not a new thing in Nepal.

Political parties have been using campuses to strengthen their youth base. The concept of political division of posts is not a good thing. This will only create public doubts as to whether the parties are seriously interested in improving the quality of higher centres of learning and boost their autonomous status. While education in the private sector has made rapid progress in the past few years, the quality of education in the public sector has been stagnant, or rather deteriorating, despite the latter’s decades of history. But the government, instead of taking concrete steps to improve the situation, has made wrong moves. It has so much to do — for instance, upgrading old courses, appointing trained and qualified teachers, improving the standard of entrance tests and examinations, and increasing the overall standard of higher education in Nepal.

Suman Dahal, via e-mail

Step down:

I totally agree with the views of Dorji Tsering Sherpa expressed in his letter “Incompetent” (THT, May 1). Prime Minister Koirala is not fit to lead the country at this critical juncture. It is not only a matter of his failing health. The past year has shown that Koirala is incapable of heading a consensus government as he has not shaken off his authoritarian style of working even in running the interim government. He has lost much of the trust the major coalition partners, particularly the CPN-M and the CPN-UML, had put in him. Koirala has been able neither to keep the law and order in the country nor hold the constituent assembly elections at the promised date. I cannot understand his obsession with power. What legacy does he wish to leave behind? With his unchanged mindset, what difference can people see between a “Loktantrik” prime minister and an authoritarian ruler?

Biswo Koirala, Pokhara

TU results:

Now that a new vice-chancellor has been appointed in TU, I hope the university will soon publish the results of the exams in various streams that had been pending for the last six months or so. The welfare of the students should not be ignored any longer.

Arjun Ghimire, via e-mail

Street dogs:

Never before have the street dogs given the people living at Gaushala so much trouble. Having too many of them around means that you have to spend sleepless nights because of their constant barking. Why hasn’t the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) done anything to control the population of stray dogs?

Sanjita Shrestha, Gaushala

Bad effect:

Vulgar posters of A-rated movies greet you from the walls wherever you go around the Valley. If the movies are only for the adults, shouldn’t their advertisement also directed only at the adult population? But the open display of flesh in public places should be curbed as it has a harmful influence on the young minds. Certain places should be designated for such posters.

Sachin Sigdel, Bagalamukhi