Despite the prime minister’s deadline and ultimatum from the Kathmandu University Professors’ Association (KUPA), the committee to recommend vice-chair candidates at the university has failed to do its job.

With vice-chancellor Bhola Thapa retiring on January 19, the government on December 14 constituted the nomination committee under Suresh Raj Sharma, founding executive head at the university. However, a second call was made on January 31 as the selection criteria landed in controversy. As many as 20 have applied.

On February 14 and 15, the nomination committee heard the applicants’ plans and interviewed them. But three weeks since, it has yet to recommend the names. The Sharma-led panel is responsible for suggesting three names on merit (those getting the highest score).

KU professors who have followed the process say Bal Chandra Luitel, Subodh Sharma and Achyut Wagle, all professors at the university, made it to the top three. But not Thapa. Yet Sharma seems intent on giving Thapa a second chance, which is not possible per the selection procedure.

“It seems a provision to invite a fourth person to conduct interviews was introduced in the selection procedure to send Thapa out of the race. Sharma did not understand the strategy,” said a professor at the university. “However, he is wrong to lobby to put Thapa on the list now. The most he can do is enlist Thapa as the fourth candidate with a note of dissent on the three names.”

Sharma has been claiming that Thapa is the most suitable person to lead the university and maintain its legacy.

But not all agree. Bibhuti Ranjan Jha, former KUPA chair, said Sharma is damaging the university’s reputation by pushing for a candidate who couldn’t make it to the merit list.

“Nobody denies Sharma’s role in bringing the university to where it is today. That doesn’t mean he can breach the rules to push his candidate. The KU has several competent people who can lead it successfully,” Jha said. “How long can he put the process on hold?”

The selections landed in controversy from the very beginning. Two weeks after its formation, the committee, on January 2, invited applications from aspirants for the KU executive head, setting PhD as the minimum qualification. The criteria met with criticism after the teachers under the university’s medical school said it was designed to exclude them as their highest degree is MD/MS, not PhD.

Of the 17 who applied, 16 professors with PhD were shortlisted in the first phase. The list too was contested as it included two of Sharma’s close relatives. The working procedure clearly states that member(s) of the selection committee cannot be in the team if their close relatives are applicants.

Medical faculty members not only objected to the criteria but also wrote to Prime Minister Oli, the university’s chancellor, requesting him to expand the eligibility criteria so they, too, could apply.

On January 18, during the university assembly, Oli instructed the officials to amend the procedure to adjust medical faculty members in the application process.

The Sharma-led committee on January 31 reopened the application process, clearing hurdles for medical science teachers to apply. After a screening, 10 of the 20 were called for an interview and presentation.

“The process has been problematic right from the shortlisting stage. At least three candidates, including Wagle [acting VC], shouldn’t have made it to the top 10,” said Bikash Adhikari, KUPA chair. “Now, as a chancellor, the prime minister should give a way out.”

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, as the chancellor, had asked the selection committee to recommend the names by Wednesday. Similarly, the KU had issued a Friday evening ultimatum for the recommendation.

“It doesn’t suit a university whose core value is ‘education for leadership’ to struggle for months to find its new leader,” said Bipin Adhikari, professor of law at the varsity. “The ongoing delay and dispute is only tarnishing the university's image.”

Adhikari suggests that the prime minister and three members of the committee sit together to find a way out.

Even the past appointments of KU vice-chancellors have been controversial.

Sharma, the founding vice-chancellor, worked for five full terms. He resigned in 2012 after completing two years of his sixth term.

The appointment of his successor was not smooth. There were allegations that Dr Ram Kanth Makaju was picked as Sharma’s successor on the condition that Morang’s Birat Medical College and Rupandehi’s Devdaha Medical College would get university affiliation. They were eventually allowed to conduct MBBS courses as an extended programme.

Makaju, who is credited with establishing Dhulikhel Hospital as one of the best community hospitals in the country, was given the university’s leadership despite questions over his working style.