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Kathmandu, Aug 11: Tribhuvan University Vice-Chancellor Dr Deepak Aryal has been unable to work from his official chamber for more than 10 days, as the Maoist-aligned All Nepal National Free Students Union (Revolutionary) has been staging a sit-in at his office door for 19 straight days.

Appointed 33 days ago, Aryal still visits the university premises daily, arriving as early as 7 am, but has been operating from other offices on campus. Staff say he stopped entering his own chamber after protesters began their relay hunger strike right at the entrance.

The Revolutionary student union insists it has not blocked Aryal from entering, but admits its presence at the doorway has kept him away. The group is demanding a fee reduction for four self-sustained academic programs that were merged into TU’s central departments nine months ago but still charge the old, higher rates. The programs include International Relations, Conflict and Peace Studies, Social Work, and Gender Studies.

Union acting chair Shivraj Bhatt said the merger should have brought fees down since TU now manages them, but students are still paying as before. The group has also called for proper staffing and facilities for the merged programs.

Aryal says there have been two rounds of talks and he has pledged Rs 5 million for infrastructure and scholarships on an inclusive basis. TU has formed a negotiation team led by Student Welfare Director Pashupati Adhikari, which held four hours of discussion with the students on Friday without agreement. Another meeting is scheduled for 5 pm today.

The student union warns that if today’s talks fail, it will launch an indefinite hunger strike. TU officials argue that since the programs are funded entirely by student fees, any major reduction would make them unsustainable.

People’s News Monitoring Service