KATHMANDU: Nepal Students’ Union (NSU), the student wing of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC), vandalized the Rector’s Office at Tribhuvan University (TU) on March 7.
The NSU was demanding that the TU administration withdraw its decision to hike fees and cancel exams during the Free Students’ Union (FSU) elections. Earlier, the NSU had also vandalized the Dean’s Office.
The NSU has accused the TU’s FSU Election Committee of bias. Bishnu Badaila, president of NSU’s TU Committee, said the TU was not working in the interest of students. “This is not acceptable to us,” he added.
The NSU is also riddled with internal disputes. Six candidates (Anoj Karki, Padma Bhushal, Narendra Saud, Padam Dahal, Sanam Oli, and Akkal Ranabhat) from the NSU filed nominations for the position of FSU President, escalating the conflict. Badaila had officially endorsed Anoj Karki for the position, but the central leadership of the NSU nominated Deepak Raj Joshi. “We had sent the official letter affirming Karki as our candidate, but the TU administration filed Joshi’s nomination,” Badaila said.
The NSU has also padlocked the TU’s central office, demanding changes to the election committee.
In another incident, Deepak Devkota, a candidate for FSU Secretary at Ratna Rajya (RR) Campus in Kathmandu, was attacked by a gang led by Nirajan Bhatta. Bhatta had the backing of Lokesh Khadka, the candidate of the ruling CPN-UML’s student wing, the All Nepal National Free Students’ Union (ANNFSU), for the FSU presidency.
According to Pashupati Adhikari, Director of TU’s Student Welfare and Sports Directorate, FSU elections have been stalled in six campuses (Saraswati, Nepal Law, Padma Kanya, Thapathali, Bishwa Bhasha, and Shankar Dev) in the Kathmandu Valley due to issues with voter lists and candidate nominations. “Factionalism and a lack of understanding among students have disrupted the environment in campuses,” Adhikari added.
Elections for the FSU, which are meant to uphold students’ interests, have increasingly become a political battleground. Once considered a nursery for future leaders, the FSU has become a center of clashes and controversies.
“Students have become party-centric, which has led to increased unrest on campuses,” Adhikari said.
Regular FSU elections have not been held in TU since 2008. In most campuses, the election process has been disrupted by student-related issues. “The environment has deteriorated due to a lack of understanding among students. Some campuses face issues with nomination processes, while others have problems with voter lists,” Adhikari explained.
The involvement of students in non-academic issues has affected FSU elections. “Students have become election-friendly but not education-focused. This has also affected FSU elections,” said Himal Sharma, a former FSU President. “Educational awareness has not increased. Also, students are focused more on political power-sharing. This has led to dissatisfaction between factions.”
According to Sharma, political issues have overshadowed educational concerns, and student politics is no longer limited to students.
Former student leader Ranjit Tamang said students are building their political careers in colleges due to a lack of an environment for grassroots politics. “Since students are focused more on politics than educational activities, FSU elections are often disrupted,” he added.
Leadership Elected Unopposed in 82 Campuses
So far, FSU Presidents have been elected unopposed at 71 campuses across the country. The FSU has won in 32 campuses, the NSU in 13 campuses, and ANNFSU-Revolutionary, the student wing of CPN (Maoist Center), has been victorious in 21 campuses.
The FSU election is scheduled to be held on March 18.
