More than 16,300 students were graduated at the 51st Convocation Ceremony of Tribhuvan University. The event was organised on 25 December.
Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the University, Sushila Karki, Education, Science and Technology Minister Mahabir Pun along with senior figures from the academic world, announced that the students had been conferred degrees. Dr Takaaki Kajita, 2015 Nobel Prize winner in Physics was the chief guest on the occasion.
A total of 89,101 students have graduated from the university, including at the Bachelor’s, Master’s, M Phil and PhD levels.
Tribhuvan University (TU) concluded its 51st convocation ceremony on Thursday, marking the graduation of 89,591 students from bachelor’s to PhD levels. Of the total graduates, 16,380 students formally received their degrees at the ceremony held in Kirtipur. This included 11,234 bachelor’s, 4,860 master’s, 130 MPhil, and 152 PhD graduates. A total of 22 students with top academic results across various faculties were honoured with convocation medals. The chief guest Dr. Kajita, said his continued commitment to research even after completing his PhD led to his scientific breakthrough. He emphasized that progress often remains invisible until a breakthrough occurs, noting that persistence, patience, and belief in one’s work shape both science and life.
“The future is shaped not by the strongest, but by those who keep trying,” Kajita said, encouraging graduates to pursue purpose, resilience, compassion, and humility.
Prime Minister Sushila Karki has insisted that all parties should strive to make the university a forum for academic debate.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Karki, emphasised the need to increase investment in education for the country’s development.
“Since the aspiration for change in the country’s higher education sector is natural, it is necessary to free it from partisan politics,” PM Karki said.
Noting that the need to amend the provision of the Prime Minister serving as the Chancellor of universities has been felt with the understanding that partisan interference in educational administration has continuously affected Nepal’s higher education sector, she said serious consultations and groundwork are underway on this matter.
Chancellor of TU Karki stated that the university education is a very crucial point in one’s life and the graduates have formally completed an academic journey, adding that the graduation itself is not the destination; it is the beginning of a new journey to utilise the knowledge gained in classrooms or laboratories for human development.
“We will have to face challenges related to rapid technological change, competition for jobs, climate change, social inequality, moral dilemmas, and global uncertainty. I am confident that those graduated from Tribhuvan University will be able to meaningfully contribute towards human development and global fraternity by facing such challenges, PM Karki said.
She stated that but merely having a large structure and size does not ensure quality and international-level education, and maintaining the correct ratio of professors to students was equally important. “I see the need for all parties – professors, students, and management – to be more active in providing quality education and publishing high-quality research materials,” PM and Chancellor Karki underlined.
She urged that sufficient attention should be given by the concerned authorities to adding new and practical educational programmes in a timely manner while maintaining excellence in educational quality, as a large proportion of Nepali students is going abroad for higher education.
On the same occasion, Education, Science and Technology Minister Mahabir Pun has said innovation and research are the foundation of Nepal’s prosperity and are equally vital for global development.
Addressing the convocation ceremony of Tribhuvan University on Thursday, Minister Pun said modern innovation and research hold the key not only to Nepal’s economic future but also to global progress. He stressed the need for a clear and determined vision to connect laboratories and workshops with the national economy.
He said universities can no longer remain institutions limited to classroom teaching alone. Referring to Tribhuvan University, he said practical knowledge, scientific learning and innovation-driven research must be embraced and developed as the core of a self-reliant economy.
“Whether you become teachers, scientists, engineers, policymakers, or leaders in your community – your contributions matter. Society progresses not only because of a few extraordinary individuals, but because many people choose persistence over resignation, and responsibility over indifference.” He encouraged the graduates to cultivate the qualities: a sense of purpose, resilience, compassion and humility.
