Supreme Court settles admission dispute between TU and AFU

Chitwan / Jan 30: The Supreme Court has settled the dispute between the Tribhuvan University (TU) and the Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU) regarding student admissions in Hetauda.

The two varsities had been sparring ever since the establishment of the AFU. Although TU stopped taking student admissions in the agriculture and veterinary faculties at Rampur in Chitwan, both were taking admissions in forestry faculty in Hetauda.

A meeting participated by officials of the two universities and the Education Ministry and chaired by then Education Minister Dinanath Sharma last year had decided that TU would not take admissions in the forestry faculty in Hetauda from this year.

However, TU had called for applications and distributed forms from Hetauda, Pokhara and Kathmandu. Following this, the AFU, Rampur had filed a writ at the Supreme Court challenging the TU’s decision and calling for implementation of the agreement reached between the two universities last year.

The Supreme Court on 9 November 2016 issued a stay order citing there was no situation for the TU Dean’s Office, Pokhara to take student admissions from Hetauda. Thereafter, TU had moved the Supreme Court challenging the stay order and calling for its annulment. The apex court, however, has refused to annul the stay order and given it continuity. A joint bench of Chief Justice Sushila Karki and justice Deepak Raj Joshi gave this decision. RSS