218 candidates apply for vice-chancellor positions at eight Nepali universities

Kathmandu – A total of 218 candidates have applied for the vacant positions of vice-chancellors at eight universities across the country.

The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology released the details of the applicants on Wednesday. An open call for new vice-chancellors was made on 25 Baisakh, with a 10-day application period. This process was initiated after the previous vice-chancellors were relieved of their duties through an ordinance.

According to the ministry, the highest number of applications, 50, were received for Tribhuvan University. Similarly, 38 applications each were submitted for Purvanchal and Pokhara Universities, 27 for Rajarshi Janak University, 20 for Mid-Western University, and 19 for Far-Western University.

Additionally, 15 candidates applied for the Agriculture and Forestry University, and 11 for Lumbini Buddhist University.

To ensure transparency in the selection process, a recommendation committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Education, Science, and Technology Minister Sasmita Pokharel.

The committee will form an expert subcommittee to evaluate the candidates. A new procedure has been issued this time, setting the criteria for appointments, with a special emphasis on the candidates’ qualifications and strategic plans.

The new procedure for selection includes an evaluation system with a total score of 100. The expert subcommittee will assess candidates based on their academic qualifications, research experience, published works, administrative experience, presentations, and interviews.

If any candidate receives excessively high or low scores, the reasons must be clearly stated.

Candidates are required to submit a 5,000-word strategic vision paper and action plan addressing issues like university reform, research expansion, administrative improvement, and enhancement of educational quality.

The expert subcommittee will conduct an initial evaluation and publish a shortlist of the top 10 candidates with the highest scores. Public feedback on the candidates will then be gathered, followed by recommendations based on presentations and interviews.

This time, stringent criteria have been set for becoming a vice-chancellor. Candidates must be at least 40 years old and possess a PhD. Additionally, they must have a minimum of 10 years of research and academic experience, demonstrate high moral character, and not be affiliated with any political party.

Candidates must also declare that their works are free from plagiarism.

The procedure requires that candidates have no conflict of interest with the respective university. The ministry claims that vice-chancellors will not be appointed based on political affiliations or influence as in the past.

The procedure includes strict provisions allowing the committee to reject any application at any time if the candidate fails to meet the minimum qualifications or submits false or misleading documents.