Tribhuvan University (TU), Nepal's largest and oldest university, has recovered only a small portion of the money owed by teachers and staff who took paid study leave but failed to return to work, despite repeated notices and a year-long recovery drive.

Only 62 former employees have come forward over the past year to repay the university, returning a combined Rs134.8 million, according to Assistant Professor Jeevan Kafle, coordinator of the Study Leave Management Implementation Committee.

The committee was formed after an investigation last year found that more than 191 faculty members and staff had taken paid study leave and never resumed their university duties. Another 200-plus employees were found to have taken study leave but failed to complete the academic programmes.

TU launched a campaign to recover salaries and benefits paid during study leave from employees who either did not return after completing their studies or failed to submit proof that they had earned the qualifications for which the leave had been granted.

The university first issued a public notice in June 2025, directing employees who had failed to return after receiving paid study leave to contact the university within 35 days. After receiving little response, it published another notice on June 17, 2026, giving them 15 more days to comply with university regulations.

The notices warned that those who ignored the deadline would face legal action.

Kafle said that while 112 people had contacted the committee and submitted applications, only 62 had actually repaid the money.

“We have already sent formal notices to those who have neither contacted the university nor returned the funds,” he said.

University officials say the problem has continued to grow. Internal estimates suggest that the number of lecturers and staff who went abroad on study leave and never returned has now exceeded 250.

The issue has also drawn the attention of the Ministry of Education and Sports.

Education Minister Sasmit Pokharel has instructed the university to expedite the recovery of the funds in accordance with the legally binding agreements signed by employees before receiving study leave. Recovering more than Rs130 million has been listed among the ministry’s achievements during the minister’s first 100 days in office.

Under TU regulations, teachers and university staff are eligible for three to five years of paid study leave while continuing to receive their full salaries and benefits. In return, they are contractually required to return and serve the university for a period equivalent to the leave they received.

Instead, many employees either never enrolled in the programmes for which leave was approved, failed to complete their studies, accepted jobs elsewhere, or remained overseas after graduation.

University officials estimate that salary payments made to employees who never returned have caused losses exceeding Rs1.5 billion.

To tackle the problem, TU established a dedicated Study Leave Management Implementation Committee a year ago. The committee has been issuing public notices instructing former employees to deposit, with interest, the salaries they received during study leave into the university's bank account.

However, citing privacy concerns, the university has not released either the investigation report or the names of those who allegedly abused the system.

Kafle said recovery efforts had slowed in recent months.

“So far, we have focused only on those who completed their study leave but failed to return,” he said. “For those who never completed their studies, the university must first make a policy decision before we can begin the recovery process.”

The investigation was launched after the university found widespread misuse of the programme. Cases included employees receiving paid leave without enrolling in any academic institution, abandoning their studies midway, taking up employment elsewhere, or remaining abroad indefinitely while continuing to benefit from university-funded leave.

The university’s Executive Council formed the investigation committee in January 2025 to identify employees who had abused the study leave system.

The Institute of Engineering accounts for the largest number of employees who never returned, with 62 cases. It is followed by the Institute of Science and Technology with 56, the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences with 30, the Institute of Forestry with 17, and the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science with 11.

The Faculty of Humanities also has the highest number of employees who failed to submit proof of completing their studies, with 84 cases. The Institute of Science and Technology has 50 such cases, the Institute of Engineering 37, the Faculty of Management 17, and the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science 11.

According to the university, each employee received between Rs3 million and Rs4 million in salary and benefits during their study leave.

TU has also decided that all recovered funds will be transferred to its pension fund rather than general university finances. The provision has been included in the university’s budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

“The money recovered from teachers and staff who failed to return after study leave or failed to obtain the approved academic qualification will be used to strengthen the university’s pension fund,” the budget document states.

Under existing rules, employees who complete paid study leave and return to TU are required to serve the university for at least the same length of time as the leave they received.