On Thursday, a group of Tribhuvan University teachers demonstrated against padlocking culture practiced by student unions and others for meeting their desired demands. Dozens of lecturers and professors participated in the demonstration with the placards “university cannot be closed” and “ensure the safety of teachers” in front of the vice-chancellor’s office at Kirtipur.
The demonstration was performed to counter the Part-time teachers and Student Union who have been padlocking the University Administration pressuring the administration to meet their demands. The padlock protesters have crippled the administrative works, said Dr. Dharma Kanta Banskota, vice-chancellor of the university. He further adds the university has been padlocked for 5 months since November 2019.
The part-time teachers have been padlocking the administration for ensuring them their permanent posts while the students have been doing so saying there have been irregularities in issuing affiliation to colleges. They said they had to resort to padlocking the administration as they wouldn’t listen to any other forms of protests- they will continue padlocking until their concerns are addressed.
The university administration appeals that the issues will be addressed through dialogue. The registrar’s office said they will not bow to pressure tactics like padlocking and hunger strikes.
The university has always addressed the genuine concerns of the teachers, said the officials of the University. The continuous padlocking has drastically affected the academic calendar, delayed the exam results, and hampered other administrative works. Padlocking has crippled the administrative work.
