Unions said they would launch strong protests if the TU failed to meet their demands. “We are working out protest plan,” Pradip Poudyal, the president of Nepal Students Unions, told myrepublica.com.
Disregarding possible protests by the students, the TU academic council had decided to hike fees for bachelor´s and master´s level in its all constituent and affiliated colleges with effect from next year. Last year, the TU had refrained from hiking admission and tuition fees.
Though students geared up for stringent protests, Prof Bhim Raj Adhikari, registrar of the TU, said chances of rolling back fee-hike decision are very slim. “We will not compromise on our decisions,” he said.
Adhikari said the TU would rather convince students by explaining their problems. “We are in constant touch with student leaders and will take all decisions only after thorough consultations,” he said.
It is after 18 years that the TU academic council is all set to hike educational fees. “In the past, all authorities refrained from taking such bold decisions fearing untoward results,” Adhikari said.
The university runs on 92 per cent grant from the government. TU manages to collect the rest from its internal resources. This academic year, the TU had sought Rs 4.47 billion and Rs 760 million for regular and development budget respectively from the government.
However, the TU bagged just Rs 2 billion in regular and Rs 90 million in development budget respectively. “The government grant is hardly sufficient for paying salaries,” Adhikari says. “We are unable to carry out development projects like modernizing libraries and introducing new courses.”
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