IOE office bearers preparing for collective resignation

KATHMANDU, Aug 28: The Institute of Engineering (IOE) has stated that it hiked the Engineering fees under compulsion and pressure. IOE has clarified that it cannot conduct classes at the same fees which was determined 28 years ago in the current situation.

Saying the government of Nepal has been continuously reducing the subsidy given, IOE added that on the one hand, the subsidy given by the state has been cut and on the other hand, the institute cannot conduct classes at the old fees due to continuous losses.

Assistant Dean Dr. Suraj Lamichhane said that they are teaching 40 percent of students on full scholarship and that the rest of the students will study by paying full fees. As the total number of seats is 2,420, the other 1,810 students will have to study by paying full fees and only quotas that are subject to full fees have been increased now, he said.

Lamichhane says that the budget given by the Nepal government is only for the same 610 students. He said that as much as there are vacancies, even half of the money is not received from the state. He informed that in such a situation, many teaching staff are teaching under contracts and the teaching staff are not even getting the salary that was increased 2 years ago.

He complains that the modality of the institute is that those who can afford to pay and those who can't should also be educated, but there was opposition from all sides when the fee was increased. According to Lamichhane, the fee was determined for the first time in 2054 BS.

At that time, Rs. 50,000 was fixed for regulars and Rs. 318,000 for a full fee. He said that although it was said that the fee would be increased at the rate of 10 percent every year, the annual fee was not increased because the prescribed fee was high for that time. He says that the organization has been at a loss for the past three years, and in the case of the Pulchok campus alone, there is a loss of 65 million, and this year alone, there is a loss of 34 million rupees. Now, the bonds paid by the students, library bonds, laboratory bonds, dormitory bonds, and campus bonds, have all been exhausted and the tax money paid by the teachers has also been exhausted without being submitted to the government, he said.

He said that this year, there is a problem to even pay the salaries of the teachers and that it is not possible to teach the new classes coming from November.

He said that they are ready to teach without taking a single penny from the students if the state invests. 

Lamichhane complained that the students are protesting even when they are trying to adjust the fees to compensate for the current deficit. He said that they have come to the intention of submitting a collective resignation saying that the campus cannot be run.

Rumors were spread on social media three days ago that the Prime Minister had given instructions to reduce the fees. However, Lamichhane says that no information has been received on that matter so far.

He says that not even 50 percent of the subsidy that should come from the state has not come.