If there is one pivotal concern among our academicians today, it is the mass exodus of students abroad, thereby fast emptying Nepali colleges and universities. This is a valid concern. If a big portion of our university-level student population leaves the country, teachers will have to speak to empty rooms, the universities will run out of resources, and the country will fail to reap the demographic dividend. This realisation seems to have finally dawned on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, too, as he is nowadays often heard speaking about the desperate need to keep the students in the country. His efforts to appoint a ‘worthy’ vice-chancellor at Tribhuvan University seem to have risen from the same realisation, or at least to persuade the students of higher education to stay put in the country. Whether he succeeds in appointing someone meritorious to lead the troubled university is for us to wait and see.

Meanwhile, recent news from Kathmandu University has come as a silver lining amidst the general anxiety about the future of Nepali academia. On Monday, Kantipur reported that the university had seen a 15 percent uptick in the number of student admissions in the 2023-24 academic year. According to the university, the total admission rate this year stands at 87 percent of its intake capacity, and all seven of its schools have seen an increment in admissions. The latest figures indicate a bounce-back by the university, which before that saw student admission rates hover around 70 percent for two consecutive years.

The university claims its innovative new programmes—such as the launch of Master in Artificial Intelligence and Bachelor in Mining Engineering—and its bid to reach out to prospective students have worked in its favour. Indeed, there is a critical need for universities to innovate when devising courses, as students these days have access to information from all over the world, and they want the best courses for themselves. Again, the competition among the Nepali institutions of higher education is not limited within the country. Nepali youngsters are increasingly adept at picking the right international colleagues and universities on their own. As if that were not enough to lure away our college-going population, universities from around the globe now send their ‘student hunting’ representatives to Nepal at the end of every academic year. And with around 122,000 students obtaining the “No Objection Certificate” in 2022 alone, Nepali universities are in a situation of “innovate or perish”.

Moreover, apart from introducing innovative programmes, the universities have a lot of collaboration to do to ensure that the students remain within the country. As it stands, Nepali universities have failed to come up with a respectable working relationship even on bringing out a common calendar. For instance, students who take exams at Tribhuvan University in a certain year often cannot enrol in another university within Nepal, as the results are delayed for months. Having no option of shifting to a different Nepali university where they can enrol in a programme of their choice, the students end up leaving Nepal. If those who shape and run our institutions of higher education cannot get their act together, these institutions will continue to struggle—with all the attendant harm to the country. It’s all about building a healthy ecosystem of higher education. Meanwhile, small victories like the KU’s new success are certainly worth celebrating.