While it is too early to jump to a conclusion about whether the exams were really rigged, the need for constituting an independent committee to probe the incident is urgent. The committee must probe the charges labeled by the students and the campus chief against the dean and assistant dean, among others. If the exams were rigged, those responsible must be meted out exemplary punishment. And in case the charge proves a figment of imagination, or a result of animosity between the campus chief and the dean, then those who boycotted the exams, instigated the boycott, and labeled the false charges must be punished.
One thing that is clear at this point though is that the institution lacks a mechanism to settle disputes the way civilized human beings do. Neglecting early signs of mistrust, overlooking dissent, and demonstrating reluctance to sit for dialogue to address the sources of disputes usually lead to ugly outbursts like the one that is unfolding at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. Keeping channels of communication open goes a long way in avoiding such incidents.
This is the second time that the institution has courted serious controversy in recent months. Last year, faculty doctors of the institution stopped availing their services and threatened to quit and join other institutions if the Faculty Board did not provide MBBS quotas for their children. The board succumbed to the ridiculous demand, but the decision was rightly rejected by the Academic Council of the Tribhuvan University.
Apart from demanding that the government immediately set up an independent commission to probe the ongoing dispute at the institution, we also ask the faculty doctors to refrain from making demands that only help them lose the trust of students as climate of mistrust serves as a breeding ground for ugly incidents like these.
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