Of the total seven universities without heads after the four-year tenure their VCs expired two weeks ago, the committee on Saturday had recommended candidates for the vacant posts to the PM. Khaniya had been recommended for TU, Ghanshyam Lal Das for Purbanchal University, Kul Prasad Koirala Nepal for Sanskrit University and Bhusan Shrestha for Far Western University.According to Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA), one Turkish author Ferit Kilickaya complained to the association in 2012 that major portion of his article "Authentic Materials and Cultural Content in EFL Classrooms" was copied by Khaniya in his article published in the journal of NELTA in 2006.
In an email to Republica on Sunday, Kilackaya said, "When I checked the article, I was shocked. Then, I tried to get in touch with Professor Tirtha Raj Khaniya to talk about this issue but could not reach him."
Kilackaya forwarded an email sent by the NELTA in 2012 which stated: "We went through both the articles -- your and the one published in our journal -- and found identical sentences without any citation and acknowledgement." The NELTA apologized stating that they duly acknowledged the value of intellectual property.
Reacting over the news of Khaniya's recommendation for the post, he said, "I do not think it will be right to appoint someone who has already been charged with plagiarism. Can he set a good example for the students studying in that university?"
Member of the VC recommendation committee Yagya Karki said Khaniya was recommended as he is competent for the post. "The committee is unaware of any charges of copy right violation against Khaniya," said Karki.
While plagiarism is a serious charge, the issue was least discussed in Nepal. In case of his article in NELTA journal, he has defended himself saying it was his unintentional error and that he regrets it. Khaniya has earned a good repute as educationist through his contributions to the academic sector. He completed PhD in Language Testing from the University of Edinburg, UK. He also served as the dean of the Department of English at TU. Before that, he served as the Vice Chairperson of The Higher Secondary Education Board.
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