Academy is meant to be a local education authority that contributes to scholarship or generates literature in areas of interest and concentration.

Linguistic usage, grammar, and rules follow making learners well versed and converse in the fluency of discipline, philology of coherence, flow and prolific prowess to express and articulate study areas.

It is schooling and school of letters preferably referring to equip university graduates, academics and scientists. It also pertains to school – high school.

It ignites a fire of imagination as a part of the academy and delivers uncommon analyses it churns out to serve knowledge society.

It is the acme of academic excellence or degeneration becoming debris in knowledge production, reproduction, or recycling.

Is it a stagnant reservoir of impractical or theoretical circumscription? Or short-lived existentialism or phenomenology of imitating or emulating envy of the Ivy Leagues or Oxbridge?

Is it redundancy of infrastructure, the absurdity of congregation, or the undying legacy of dark times instead of academia becoming the torchbearer of a flame of liberty or open society?

With a long history of servitude to the rulers, Nepal’s premier public university, Tribhuvan University is in tatters of late. Or is it impoverishment when academic failure reflects the bad governance in the state and society? Some of these pertinent queries need to be answered.

Political leadership has to evade nepotism, favoritism, and buck shifting. Or it avoids making academies a political hub so that to prevent this field of work to the path of perversion towards the utter mess, chaos and failure, and it is sheer ruining or dilapidation of noble foundation.

Politics is querulous and its interests are broad, common and every day but it is the least well-understood domain. Every entity – public or private is infested with politics to outweigh interests over principles or ideology.

Academy has become a haven for political appointees or political cradles to nurture students or cadres or comrades to political education, political communication, and political socialization. Liberal education is to be what we seek to promote liberty, justice, and truth – three pillars of liberal democracy.

Liberal realism, liberal nationalism, and liberal democracy are intertwined to exist in modernity and development.

Criticisms are to be leveled not as a barrage if they are not based on facts, figures, or evidence. So while criticizing one has to reckon ammunition of rationale hinting on personal endeavor, spirit and diligence.

If the academy does not have good governance following its annual calendar or plan of action or timeline then what can we expect in political society or government or governance. We certainly face maladministration that burdens our sons and daughters and their offspring.

Academy has an onus to maintain its knowledge corps, epistemic esprit, and crème de la crème of Nepal. As media intermittently reveal a concern of migrating students of Nepal abroad also on self-finance too in billions of rupees, it is high time teachers and educators note this flow of money to achieve excellent academia.

When are we sharpening or honing caliber when teachers are lookalike cadres of a political party rather than a catalyst to foster and bolster state and nation-building?

Political virtue is missing in an old and new world – the Western and the Non-Western democracies. There are tensions and anxiety-ridden state of domestic affairs in political society because of immoral approaches and unethical twists and turns to unfairly take advantage of virtues instead of maintaining patience to a win-win situation on the political battlefield in an integrity-laden manner.

Ultimately the world community benefits from Nepalese students grooming their talent, versatility and brilliance to shine illuminations against odds. Knowledge is a supreme power as the Sanskrit maxim states.

Academy is an abode to express knowledge and enrich it through discursive practices. It augments human capital in frontiers of sciences and humanities.

In the era of information, communication and technology in the case of COVID 19 paused in educational activities while online and webinars replaced conventional learning and teaching.

This is not a novelty when open and distance education has been introduced since 1990 with the television mode of catering learning systems to those who did not have access to academia. It is a privilege to inculcate learning in the university system to prepare for the best careers to advance knowledge and interests.

When the author was an undergraduate student of political science in India, Professor remarked that politics is the last resort of scoundrels and backbenchers are scolded for hooting and creating a ruckus as a nuisance and troublemakers studying an effete political science major.

A silence fell on me and my aspirations to conduct positive politics or add values to knowledge systems and enhance the faculty of political science.

Political virtue is missing in an old and new world – the Western and the Non-Western democracies. There are tensions and anxiety-ridden state of domestic affairs in political society because of immoral approaches and unethical twists and turns to unfairly take advantage of virtues instead of maintaining patience to a win-win situation on the political battlefield in an integrity-laden manner.

A positive-sum game is becoming a zero-sum game. Cannot we conduct politics in a world that progresses and advances public and international affairs – sane and humane?

Where do we go from here? What is a departure to education that fulfills passion, excitement and attraction to undertake zeal in leadership in every field of study?

Is the academy becoming an artifact or when will it be an auction shop of knowledge to raise the bar high in understanding and explaining and resolving problems of human affairs and human sciences?

On this premise, we, nevertheless, figure out the Deuba Government on sanctioning the appointment of lecturers not based on merit or open competition examination but based on party’s political affiliation and creed.

So much time has been wasted in adjusting faculty from the temporary, contract, and part-time adjunct lecturers without free, fair and impartial tests.

This does not enhance the quality and standards of education to get a job at the professor level on the one hand, and on the other hand, a faculty of political science has noticeably less number of students in comparison to income guaranteeing other lucrative disciplines.

Academia filled with political appointees can never achieve the goals, mission, and vision of the university system. A university will become archaeology if it does not have the clarity to serve the state and society that benefits all and serve not solely to a particular ideology or party.

This is a case of blatant corruption even University authorities are ignoring. It can invite tremendous damage to quality education and infrastructure sucking up the public purse.

A chief used to say the pursuit of a job or career not based on achieving noble or lofty objectives of institutions would jeopardize the future of national integrity and it is a great disservice to humanity and the world at large.

Is there no meaning for a knowledge worker to engage in areas of concentration to multiply prosperity and sustain the wealth of nations?

Is it not a propitious time Nepal has to shed the legacy of dark periods of educational history when academia or agencies were rare?

After 1990 the private sector had invested in educational services when the public-funded education system did not perform well, reform better, or improve drastically to cater to job prospects or career development.

Time is ripe to take action to seriously address this dreg to target on flaws and shortcomings of education that does not match the benchmark of elite academic credentials of the Western world.

We are quite behind the schedule to compete even with Indian academia while China and Chinese are becoming hyper-American with the 996 code.

A good education starts from the base or turf where pedagogy is undertaken to prepare human capital to achieve excellent governance and to avoid the nemesis of the archaeology of académie so that to serve present and future generations.

That means working six days from 9 AM to 9 PM. It is a severe competitive character China is nurturing to tackle the acute sense of excellence and splendor of stint and feat in every sphere of modernization.

Furthermore, a small power would be if Nepal yearns to need to overhaul and revamp agencies and its agents of civic service to optimize and focus on these public interest issues.

Political leadership has to evade nepotism, favoritism, and buck shifting. Or it avoids making academies a political hub so that to prevent this field of work to the path of perversion towards the utter mess, chaos and failure, and it is sheer ruining or dilapidation of noble foundation.

This turns the academy into archaeology due to its maximum politicization even after getting public financial support.

This is a serious issue not a minor manifestation of micro-, meso- and macro- politicking. It raises eyebrows to current history and it can be fatal to the future citizenship of Nepal.

Chancellor, please turn over to university rules, regulations and norms to promote good governance in academia to complement the quality of life, standards of government and governance.

A good education starts from the base or turf where pedagogy is undertaken to prepare human capital to achieve excellent governance and to avoid the nemesis of the archaeology of académie so that to serve present and future generations.