Nepal Open University () is a

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whether a national university is considered public varies from o ...

in Nepal. It was established in 2016 through an act of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. The degrees awarded by the university are treated as equivalent to degrees awarded by any other Nepali University under the purview of the University Grants Commission.

History of Establishment

The initial formal endeavor of establishing an Open University in Nepal can be traced to 1999, when the government became a signatory of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Consortium to Open and Distance Education. The budget speech of Fiscal Year 2008/09 allocated funding to implement Open University concept in order to provide an opportunity to youths who were deprived of getting education during the conflict period. However, the government did not take any concrete action due to the lack of a proper institutional body to initiate implementation of the plan. Meanwhile, a Canada-based non-profit organization, Canada Forum for Nepal (CFFN) involved in delivering education to the people living in the economically deprived regions of Nepal since 2007, brought together three North American Nepali Diaspora leaders Dr. Ambika P. Adhikari, Dr. Drona Prakash Rasali and Dr. Pramod Dhakal and an Australian Nepali Diaspora leader Dr. Raju Adhikari to initiate the issue of establishing Open University in Nepal as one of the prime agenda for the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA)’s International Coordination Council (ICC), which endorsed the Open University of Nepal (OUN) initiative as its flagship project in 2010. In two instances, the legislative bills for OUN were tabled in the Parliament. The first one was aborted due to dissolution of the Parliament in May 2012. The second bill was passed by the Parliament on June 30, 2016. and authenticated by the President of Nepal on July 14, 2016.

Administration

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

– Ashok Kumar Rai, Minister of Education, Science and Technology *Vice-Chancellor – Shilu Manandhar Bajracharya, PhD *Registrar – Govinda Singh Bista *Faculty Deans **Faculty of Science, Health & Technology – Surendra Shrestha **Faculty of Social Sciences & Education – Khagendra Prasai **Faculty of Management & Law – Arhan Sthapit

Chancellor

The

is the Head of the university and presides at the convocation of the university. The Minister of Education, Science and Technology serves as Chancellor in an

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''List of Latin phrases (E)#ex officio, ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the off ...

capacity.

Vice-Chancellor

The Vice-Chancellor is the executive head of the university.

Registrar

The Registrar is the financial and administrative head of the university.

Faculties

The university consists of three

Faculties Faculty or faculties may refer to: Academia * Faculty (academic staff), professors, researchers, and teachers of a given university or college (North American usage) * Faculty (division), a large department of a university by field of study (us ...

which offers 16 academic programs comprising courses at

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

Bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

and

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

levels.

Faculty of Management and Law

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

Bachelor of Business Science The Bachelor of Business Science (BBusSci) is a four-year honours level degree providing for a scientifically based study of economic and management sciences, "premised on the application of quantitative methods". The degree is offered in South A ...

s *

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

* Master of Science in Development Management and Governance

Faculty of Science, Health and Technology

* Master's Degree in e-Governance * Master's Degree in Natural Resource and Development * Master's Degree in Geoinformatics * Masters of Science in Environmental and Occupational Health * MPhil in ICT

Faculty of Social Sciences and Education

* Master's Degree in Media and Communication Studies * Diploma in Library and Information Management

References

{{authority control Open universities Universities in Nepal Universities and colleges established in 2016 2016 establishments in Nepal