PM Shah asks VCs to ensure standards, keep academic calendars and own face consequences for failure

For too long, the Prime Minister noted, students have been held hostage by bureaucratic delays that “waste their academic time” and shut doors to global opportunities. “Even if you have to evaluate answer sheets at the provincial level,” he told the university heads, “ensure results are out in a month under any circumstances.” This move toward decentralization is a direct strike at the heart of the sluggish, Kathmandu-centric examination boards.

Shah also moved to dismantle the “equivalence” barrier—a notorious piece of red tape at Tribhuvan University. By ordering that degrees from other institutions no longer require this cumbersome
verification, he is essentially challenging a system that treats its own students with suspicion.

However, the Prime Minister’s most aggressive move was directed at the “party-ization” of the campus. He ordered the immediate removal of all political party-affiliated student offices from university grounds. In a country where campuses often serve as the frontline for partisan warfare, Shah’s instruction to use security personnel to vacate these offices is a bold, if risky, attempt to return the university to the students.

Beyond the immediate directives, a deeper shift is brewing within the halls of power. While he has yet to make an official declaration, it is understood that the government is leaning toward dismantling the current system where the Prime Minister serves as the ex-officio Chancellor. This traditional arrangement has long been criticized for allowing political rot to seep into academic appointments. By distancing the Prime Minister’s office from the Chancellorship, Shah signals a desire for professional, rather than political, leadership in our universities , granting it freedom from political yoke. The meeting featured a wide array of leadership, from the heavyweights of Tribhuvan and Kathmandu Universities to the specialized medical academies of Karnali and Rapti.