The ongoing delay in the appointment of the Vice-Chancellor (VC) for Kathmandu University (KU) has raised serious concerns over the selection process that has reeked of biases and political meddling. Senior university officials and prominent lecturers have urged the KU's Vice-Chancellor Search and Recommendation Committee to accelerate the process of selecting a meritorious vice-chancellor in a transparent way. They have ruefully noted that vested interests have meddled in the shortlisting of VC candidates, raising questions over the efficacy of the committee. KU, hailed for its high academic levels and apolitical environment, is now mired in political meddling and administrative inefficiencies that reflect the similar sorry state of the nation's oldest, Tribhuvan University, which has been suffering from the same malaise for the last four decades. KU was established as an independent institution to offer a viable alternative to universities like TU and Pokhara and other universities where officials are frequently appointed based on their political affiliation. Besides administrative ineptness, political meddling has threatened to destroy KU's credibility, too. Favoritism, nepotism, and unjustifiable selection criteria have caused suspicion over the integrity of the whole VC selection process. The controversy surrounding the minimum qualification requirement may stop the best-suited candidate from getting appointed.
Politicians, student unions, and even top university administrators have been interfering with key appointments, compromising the autonomy of KU. The deadlock over the appointment is a direct consequence of political interference as inept individuals attempt to take the mantle of university leadership. It appears that a power struggle within the institution has become a substitute for merit-based decision-making. The delay in the vice chancellor's appointment has caused administrative and academic works to go off track, making lecturers, professors, and students anxious. A shaky, weakened university will not function well, and further dilly-dallying will only tarnish KU's reputation. The squabble over VC appointments has pointed to the political failure of leadership as well in bringing about autonomy in higher education institutes. If KU takes a path along the lines of Tribhuvan University, another national-level key university risks getting lost to incompetency and mismanagement. The erosion of confidence in Nepal's universities has already driven thousands of students abroad in search of quality education. A KU with an inferior vice-chancellor will only continue the trend. If authorities want to stop KU from being deprived of academic expertise in the days to come, the current crisis needs to be resolved by both the government and the university administration. The Prime Minister, as the Chancellor of KU, needs to ensure that the new VC is appointed on merit and without political pressure or outside influence.
All stakeholders-students, the faculty, and the general public—must be vigilant in safeguarding the university's reputation. The decisions that are made in the coming days on the VC selection will determine whether KU remains known as a center of academic excellence or becomes the victim of the same political interferences that have affected other universities. The selection of a capable, independent, and visionary vice-chancellor is key to restoring confidence in KU. A university such as KU must be a bastion of learning, innovation, and progress. Hence, we must not lose a university like KU to political mishandling and administrative mismanagement. It is also true that a qualified VC appointed on merit can take care of all the weaknesses and anomalies in KU. Stakeholders must vie for such a VC, who can lead probably the best university in the nation from the front.