Tribhuvan University (TU) has given a 15-day deadline to professors who took study leave and failed to return, ordering them to repay the salary and allowances they received during that period.
According to Jeevan Kafle, coordinator of the Study Leave Management Implementation Committee, a public notice has been issued granting this final 15-day window for faculty members to come forward.
“We have published a notice asking teachers and staff who did not return to university service after taking study leave, or who returned but did not complete the required service period, to make contact,” says Kafle to Onlinekhabar. “Legal proceedings will be initiated in accordance with the agreement signed with the university and existing regulations.”
The committee, led by Kafle, had been given time until the third week of July to locate the absent professors and recover the funds. If individuals do not come forward within 15 days, the committee will submit a full report to university leadership listing those who have repaid and those who have not.
The government’s own push to bring non-returning professors into a legal framework has lent urgency to the process.
“The government has directed us to make the work more effective. The Minister of Education has also taken a serious personal interest in the matter,” says coordinator Kafle.
University officials have been actively supporting and facilitating the committee’s investigation.
“The university itself formed this committee through a formal decision, and we have been working accordingly. Full cooperation from the administration has made this possible,” Kafle adds.
According to the committee, 50 individuals have repaid their dues so far, returning a combined total of Rs. 11 crore 84 lakh.
“We have also been sending letters to those who have not yet come to pay,” Kafle informs.
Among those who have repaid are sitting members of parliament who had taken study leave but did not complete their required service. MPs from the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and the Nepali Congress have returned their salary and allowance amounts.
Ananda Chand, RSP member of parliament elected from Kailali-5, and Jagat Timilsina, a Nepali Congress member elected to the National Assembly from Gandaki Province, are among those who have made repayments. Before becoming MPs, Chand served as an assistant professor at TU’s Patan Multiple Campus, and Timilsina as an associate professor in the Central Department of Management.
Chand repaid Rs. 44 lakh 56 thousand on Chaitra 30, and Timilsina repaid Rs. 33 lakh 50 thousand on Baishakh 2.
Background and regulations
Under TU’s Teacher and Staff Service Regulations 2050 (B.S.), faculty members who take study leave of between three and five years are required to return and serve the university for a minimum of five years. Those who take three years of study leave must serve at least three years upon return. However, the majority of professors who go on leave have not been returning.
Faculty members sign an agreement stipulating that if they fail to return after their study leave, they must repay all salary and allowances received during that period along with 10 percent interest. Despite this, many have been found to resign without repaying the funds.
Tribhuvan University grants paid study leave to produce highly qualified faculty. However, widespread abuse of the provision has caused the university significant financial, academic, and reputational harm.
Faculty distribution by department
Among the 398 professors found to have misused study leave, the highest number came from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, with 114 professors, followed by the Institute of Science and Technology with 106 and the Institute of Engineering with 99. The Institute of Forestry accounted for 28 cases, while the Faculty of Management had 19.
The Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science recorded 13 cases. Both the Institute of Medicine and the Faculty of Education had nine professors each found to have misused study leave. The Faculty of Law reported the lowest number, with only one professor implicated.
The investigation committee’s report identifies 191 professors who took leave and never returned, and 207 who took leave but did not complete their studies, totalling 398 individuals. The misuse has cost Tribhuvan University more than Rs. 2 billion.
