A student has filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission, claiming that administrative delays in conducting examinations and publishing results at Tribhuvan University (TU) deprived him of an opportunity to pursue higher education during the current academic session.
Yograj Dahal, a resident of Letang, Morang, filed the complaint with the Commission on Tuesday, requesting that he be given an opportunity to enroll in the three-year Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) program at Degree Campus, Biratnagar, during the current academic session (2082/083).
Dahal has completed a three-year Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) program under the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Mahendra Morang Adarsha Multiple Campus, Biratnagar.
Timeline of Examination and Result Publication Delays
According to Dahal, Tribhuvan University's failure to follow its academic calendar and the lack of coordination among its various bodies have caused students to lose academic years unnecessarily.
He submitted his examination form for the B.A. First-Year Partial Examination on 13 Bhadra 2082 BS. However, the examination was conducted nearly nine months later, from 18 to 27 Jestha 2083 BS.
Just two days after the examination ended, on 29 Jestha 2083, Tribhuvan University conducted the entrance examination for the three-year LL.B. program.
Dahal could not participate in the entrance examination because he did not have the final certificate confirming completion of his bachelor's degree.
Meanwhile, the university published the B.A. partial examination results only on 22 Bhadra 2083 BS, nearly three months after the examination concluded.
In his complaint, Dahal stated that he had to wait one year and nine days from the date of submitting his examination form until the publication of the results.
Although he had passed his bachelor's examination by the time the results were published, the entrance examination for the law program had already taken place.
He also stated that he had completed the LL.B. application form and paid the required fee within the prescribed deadline.
Student Questions Disqualification and Demands Admission Opportunity
In his complaint, Dahal referred to the universally recognized legal principle that "the law does not compel a person to perform an impossible act."
He argued that it was unjust to declare him ineligible because his examination results had not been published when the authority to publish those results rested entirely with the university.
Dahal maintained that the opportunity to compete for admission, which he lost because of the university's administrative delays, should be restored.
He requested that the university provide an admission opportunity by conducting a special or supplementary entrance examination, if necessary, while maintaining the prescribed academic standards and competitive selection system.
He also urged the National Human Rights Commission to treat the complaint as a time-sensitive matter because his request would become ineffective once the current academic session ended.
Dahal asked the Commission to obtain the relevant documents from Tribhuvan University and initiate an immediate investigation.
He further requested directions to establish a national academic calendar and improve coordination between faculties so that students would not lose academic sessions because of delays in examinations and result publication.
According to Dahal, inadequate coordination among the university's Executive Council, Academic Council, Faculty Council of the Faculty of Law, and Office of the Controller of Examinations has forced students to bear the consequences of administrative failures.
Complaints Previously Submitted to Government Authorities
Before approaching the National Human Rights Commission, Dahal had registered 10 complaints through the Government of Nepal's "Hello Sarkar" grievance-handling system, seeking a resolution to the problem.
He also submitted repeated written applications to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and the Ministry of Education.
However, he complained that the concerned administrative bodies merely exchanged official correspondence without providing an effective solution.
Dahal stated that nearly one and a half months had passed since the Ministry of Education and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers forwarded his applications with recommendations, but the university had still not addressed his concerns.
Issue Previously Raised in Parliamentary Committee
The matter had also been discussed at a meeting of the Education, Health and Information Technology Committee under the House of Representatives.
During the committee meeting held on 6 Ashoj, Committee Chairperson Ojaswi Sherchan raised Dahal's case as an example of administrative mismanagement at Tribhuvan University.
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