Renowned educationist and social worker Angur Baba Joshi died at the age of 89 on Saturday.

Joshi, who had been a cancer patient for a long time, died while undergoing treatment at the Neuro Hospital in Kathmandu, according to family members.

Joshi was born in 1932 at Dilli Bazar, Kathmandu. Despite being married at the early age of 11, she completed her School Leaving Certificate in 1948 and went on to do a Bachelor's in political science and Sanskrit from Banaras in India. In 1957, she and her husband both went to the United Kingdom to pursue higher education under the Colombo Plan scholarships. She pursued a Masters and PhD at Oxford University, becoming the first Nepali woman to attend the prestigious institution.

Upon her return from the UK in 1962, Joshi was appointed principal of Padma Kanya Campus in Kathmandu, the first woman principal in Nepal.

Joshi was well-known in Nepal as a career educationist and social worker. She chaired a number of social organisations that supported education for girls and provided employment to women. With close links to the royal family, Joshi was even appointed a member of the national Panchayat by king Birendra.