PM Koirala appointed the VCs for three other universities also, as per the recommendations made earlier on Saturday by a committee led by Education Minister Chitra Lekha Yadav.
Koirala, in his capacity as chancellor of the universities, appointed Kul Prasad Koirala, Ghanashyam Lal Das and Bhushan Shrestha as the VCs of Nepal Sanskrit University, Purbanchal University and Sudur Paschimanchal University respectively, said the PM's press coordinator, Prakash Adhikari.
Of the seven universities that have been without a head after the four-year tenures of the respective incumbents ended two weeks ago, the top executive positions at Mid-Western University, Pokhara University and Lumbini University remain vacant still.
While social media has expressed fury upon the recommendation of Khaniya as TU VC because of an accusation of plagiarism brought against him, Ferit Kilickaya, the Turkish author who made the accusation, also expressed his displeasure in an email to Republica
Kilickaya first came to know in 2012 that a major portion of his article titled "Authentic Materials and Cultural Content in EFL Classrooms" was copied by Khaniya in an article published in the journal of the Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA) in 2006.
In the email exchange, Kilickaya said it would be wrong to appoint someone accused of plagiarism to the prestigious post.
According to him, it was NELTA that comminucated with him and apologiuzed after finding the violation of copyright. "He did not even do anything about it," stated Kilickaya explaining that Khaniya himself never responded to his concerns nor ever apologized.
"This person will be ruling a university, and at all universities, honesty and industriousness are stressed. Can this person be a good example for the students studying at that university? " Kilickaya questioned.
Meanwhile, the VC appointments have also sparked objections at all the four universities. Professors' Association, which is affililated to the CPN-UML, announced that it is to padlock the various departments of the four universities to express their dissatisfaction over the appointments.
READ ALSO: Khaniya picked as TU VC charged with plagiarism
Ex-TU VCs warn against political interference in picking VCs
