TU officials targeted as students paste abusive slogans on their chairs

KATHMANDU: Tribhuvan University (TU), the country’s largest and oldest academic institution, has once again been engulfed in student unrest. Members of the All Nepal Revolutionary Student Union, aligned with the Communist Party of Nepal, have staged protests inside the university administration, posting derogatory slogans on the chairs of the Vice-Chancellor and Registrar to demand attention to their unresolved grievances.

The students, demanding a reduction in fees for four departments under the Faculty of Humanities, pasted posters on Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Deepak Aryal’s and Registrar Prof. Dr. Kedar Prasad Rizal’s chairs with phrases such as “I am an educational mafia” and “I am a criminal who ignores agreements.” The protest targets the administration’s failure to lower fees for self-funded programs—including International Relations & Diplomacy, Gender Studies, Social Work, and Conflict, Peace & Development Studies—even after the departments were merged into the central faculty, as previously agreed.

Dinesh Air, President of the TU committee of the Revolutionary Student Union, said repeated attempts at dialogue with the administration were ignored, forcing them to resort to “symbolic” protest. He emphasized on social media that the protest was against “dereliction of duty” and the “value-less character” of officials, not personal attacks.

Meanwhile, TU officials condemned the students’ actions as “arrogant” and “misconduct,” expressing concerns that such behavior is creating a hostile work environment. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “This is outright harassment. Staff and administrators are now afraid to enter their offices due to fear of the student group.”

This is not the first such incident. Recently, the same student group damaged the nameplate outside Rector Prof. Dr. Khadga KC’s office. Although office locks, imposed since Jan 3, were reopened following a Supreme Court order and police intervention, officials continue to face obstruction in carrying out regular duties.

The TU administration has stated that a committee has already been formed to review the fee structure, and the process of addressing the students’ demands is ongoing. Vice-Chancellor Aryal has repeatedly affirmed that steps are being taken, but students argue that no tangible results have been achieved, intensifying their protests. Despite an interim Supreme Court order prohibiting campus lockdowns and disruption of academic activities, student organizations continue to apply pressure in ways that challenge institutional norms and academic decorum.