TU part-time teachers threaten to shut down varsity from November 15

Kathmandu, November 6 — Part-time contract teachers at Tribhuvan University (TU) have warned of shutting down the university from November 15 if their demands are not met. The teachers are protesting the failure to implement an agreement made with the Part-Time Professors Association on July 3. 

The Tribhuvan University Service Commission is scheduled to conduct the examination for the position of Assistant Professor on November 15. The examination is being held in accordance with a 2020 advertisement issued for the recruitment of assistant professors. At that time, an advertisement was issued for 581 assistant professor positions. The part-time teachers have demanded that this examination be postponed and the process of converting them to permanent contracts be initiated instead.

Gokul Limbu, the chairman of the central struggle committee of the Part-Time Professors Association, explained that they have been teaching at the university in a part-time capacity for the past 19 years. According to an agreement with the university, the Executive Council meeting held on August 7 had decided to form a three-member field study team to advance the appointment process for teacher assistants in vacant positions.

Based on the recommendations of this team, a process was to be developed for the appointment of teacher assistants, and the procedure was to be advanced through the relevant campuses or central departments. However, Limbu criticized the university for failing to move forward with the process, prompting them to threaten a shutdown of the university and halt the exam scheduled for November 15.

“We will wait until the 15th. Either the university will be shut down, or the examination will not take place. We are calling our colleagues from across the country,” Limbu stated. “This time, we will fight our final battle with the university. The university will be shut down, and only then will the exploited teachers get justice.”

Limbu further warned that if they are not given permanent contracts, they will approach the Labor Court. He described their situation as one of both labor and intellectual exploitation.

“We have worked at the university for 19-20 years and have been kept as part-time teachers all along. According to the university’s policy, part-time teachers should be given contract positions for six months to two years if needed. We have been working all these years without a contract and are not given a regular salary,” he added.

Tribhuvan University has around 8,000 teaching positions, but currently only 3,820 are filled with permanent staff, some of whom are involved in administrative duties or have taken study leave. The remaining classes are taught by part-time and contract teachers.

Limbu pointed out that the part-time teachers have been filling in for the subjects that permanent professors are unable to teach. “All we are asking for is a minimum monthly salary. We teach two periods, just like assistant professors and professors. But while assistant professors receive a salary of NPR 48,000, and professors earn nearly NPR 70,000, we earn only NPR 500 per period, which is reduced to NPR 450 after taxes,” he said.

Limbu also requested that if the university does not want part-time teachers anymore, it should make a formal decision to stop hiring part-timers. “If you can’t even manage to pay us a monthly salary, this is unacceptable,” he said.

Limbu clarified that the approximately 2,200 part-time teachers are now preparing for a final battle. “We have been subjected to labor exploitation and intellectual exploitation. We must raise our voices when we face injustice,” he added. “We are the ones being exploited within the university. We teach moral lessons, yet we ourselves are facing problems.”

Limbu also stated that they have requested the Service Commission to advertise all vacant positions at once, instead of issuing separate advertisements to fill the vacancies with a few selected individuals. “If the Service Commission issues an advertisement, it should be for all vacant positions. They issue fewer advertisements to fill positions with their own people. We have asked for all positions to be advertised at once,” he explained.

Limbu further emphasized that there are over 4,000 vacant positions at the university, and the university should call for recruitment for all those positions at the same time.

Recently, the part-time contract teachers met with Professor Ghanshyam Bhattarai, Chairman of the Tribhuvan University Service Commission, to request that the examination be postponed and the process of converting their contracts into permanent positions be initiated.

TU Registrar, Professor Kedar Prasad Rijal, said that the university is in favor of recruiting teachers through open competition. He also clarified that the Service Commission is proceeding with the examination process as per the current demand.