Political Patronage and Dwindling Academic Freedom in Nepal

Since the reinstatement of democracy in Nepal in 1990, higher education has been profoundly affected by political interference, undermining its potential to foster academic freedom. The compromise on academic freedom in Nepal’s universities has prevented the emergence of a critical mass of change-makers. Instead of becoming vibrant spaces for critical thinking, debate, and innovation, Nepal’s universities have increasingly become arenas for serving the vested interests of political parties.

Several key factors have contributed to this decline in academic autonomy and intellectual discourse. One of the most detrimental has been the intrusion of party politics into the academic sphere, which has created a disconnect between the educational institutions and those who aspire to be agents of societal change. Rather than cultivating independent thought and scholarship, universities in Nepal have become factories for producing either staunch political cadres or passive certificate holders, lacking the drive or capacity to contribute to knowledge production. This situation in Nepal serves as a poignant example of how universities can lose their academic freedom, even within liberal democracies in the Global South. Political parties profess their commitment to institutional autonomy, yet their actions reveal a systematic effort to subvert academic independence and use universities as vehicles for political patronage.

This paper explores how the so-called liberal democratic political parties in Nepal have institutionalised political patronage within the country’s universities, resulting in a steady erosion of academic freedom. The analysis is based on a comprehensive review of the activities of political parties and their affiliated organisations within universities, particularly the student unions, as well as the highly bureaucratised and often dysfunctional internal governance structures of the institutions. The findings reveal a troubling picture in which the universities are failing in their core mission of academic excellence and knowledge production, ultimately stifling intellectual growth and innovation.