As many as 44 serving and retired professors from various universities including incumbent Vice-chancellor Dr Ram Kantha Makaju have applied for the Kathmandu University vice chancellor post that will be vacant in a week.

The search committee formed to recommend the vice chancellor candidates on January 5 invited CVs from the aspirants. The 88th senate meeting of the university on December 29 had formed a three-member committee, led by Education Minister Krishna Gopal Shrestha, to find a successor to Makaju, whose term expires on January 21. Daman Nath Dhungana, chair of the KU Board of Trustees, and Suresh Raj Sharma, former vice chancellor at the university, are the members.

“It seems Makaju is looking for a third term at the university,” an official at the ministry told the Post 0n condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to talk to the media on the matter. “The applicants are more than what we had anticipated.”

The meeting of the search committee on Wednesday went through all the resumes. A meeting of the committee scheduled for Monday is likely to shortlist the applicants, according to the official.

Former registrars at the university Bhadra Man Tuladhar and Bhola Thapa too have submitted their resumes. Former dean Man Prasad Wagle, professors Janardan Lamichhane, Bibhuti Ranjan Jha and Bal Krishna Luitel are the other applicants. Thapa and Lamichhane were recommended for the position in 2017 as well when Makaju got appointed for the second term.

The committee will forward three names to Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who as the ex-officio chancellor will pick one of the candidates to lead the varsity.

This is the first time in the three-decade history of the university that an open competition has been held to select the vice chancellor. Makaju, who replaced Suresh Raj Sharma in 2012, was reappointed in January 2017.