Kathmandu, April 12 -- The resignation of Keshar Jung Baral as Tribhuvan University vice-chancellor has again exposed the executive's interference in the academic sector.

He submitted his resignation on March 28, citing poor health as the reason. However, he spoke out after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli approved his resignation on Thursday. "It was better to quit than to succumb to interference from the chancellor," Baral told the Post. Oli is the ex-officio chancellor of the university.

Baral said Oli's blatant interference was visible right from the university's senate meeting in December. Although Baral wanted his four-year plan under the TU's 2020-2030 strategy to get endorsed from the senate, Oli, who was chairing the meeting as cha...