Opinion | Why Nepal’s universities are straining to keep up with student demand
Summary
Nepal’s universities are struggling to keep up with rising student enrollment as faculty numbers grow far more slowly than the student body. The shortage is especially acute outside Kathmandu and in technical disciplines, where institutions rely heavily on visiting and part-time instructors.
Key Points
- Higher education enrollment in Nepal has risen sharply, from 371,000 students in 2016/17 to 633,053 in 2023/24, while full-time teaching staff on constituent campuses grew much more slowly.
- Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University, Far-Western University and Nepal Open University show very different student-teacher ratios, highlighting uneven teaching capacity.
- The article says public funding has increased, but much of it has gone to infrastructure and block grants rather than full-time faculty recruitment and development.
- It calls for a National Higher Education Framework that prioritizes faculty recruitment, retention and training, especially outside Kathmandu Valley.
