Enrollment at Tribhuvan University (TU) has increased. The Auditor General’s 63rd report notes that the number of students at TU grew by 5.61%.
Compared to fiscal year 2023/24, enrollment in 2024/25 rose by 5.61%. The previous year had seen a 9.58% decline from 2022/23.
Total enrollment went from 587,719 in FY 2022/23, dropped to 531,399 in FY 2023/24, and has now recovered to 561,170 in FY 2024/25. These figures cover both TU’s constituent and affiliated colleges.
Management faculty has the most students
The Management faculty has the largest student body, with enrollment across the three fiscal years at 270,120, 268,129, and 299,416. The Education faculty saw 111,615, 97,966 and 133,570.
The Humanities faculty, however, declined; 64,003, 68,332 and 58,737. Law similarly fell from 5,618 to 7,387 to only 2,175.
Engineering enrollment has dropped sharply: 73,219, 56,350 and 32,109. Agriculture and Animal Science also fell; 5,207, 3,290 and 450. Medicine bucked the trend: 9,725, 6,399 and 11,503. Science and Technology; 46,069, 22,401 and 21,950.
The Auditor General has called on Tribhuvan University to develop and implement reforms to stop the decline in technical fields.
Reason behind increasing number
TU attributes the overall growth mainly to external factors. Vice Chancellor Prof. Sushil Bajracharya argues that stricter visa policies in the US and Australia have played a role, along with the Ukraine war and tensions in the US-Iran relationship, all of which reduced scholarships and made studying abroad more expensive, leading students to stay and study in Nepal.
“After the Gen-Z movement, a new government was formed. The renewed hope in Nepal has also contributed to the increase in student numbers,” he says to Onlinekhabar.
Pass rates also improved
The number of graduates produced rose significantly, from 74,149 in FY 2023/24 to 89,191 in FY 2024/25, a 20.28% increase after a 6.41% decline the prior year.
Overall results improved by an average of 16.86%. Management and Humanities saw growth of 28.71% to 31.27%.
Government funding
The government significantly increased its grant to TU in FY 2024/25, to NPR 18 billion 91 crore 66 lakhs, up from NPR 11 billion 60 crore 10 lakhs the previous year.
Per-student expenditure works out to NPR 38,170. TU’s internal revenue covers 47.13% of its budget, with the remaining 52.87% coming from the government. The Auditor General has recommended that TU increase its own revenue to reduce dependence on federal funds.
TU by the numbers
TU has 64 constituent campuses, 44 central departments, and 157 units in total, along with 1,053 community and privately affiliated colleges. It has 15,425 filled positions out of 16,062 sanctioned posts, with a teacher-to-staff ratio of 9:8.
