Government Tables National Defence University, Engineering Bills in House
Legislation to formally establish the National Defence University and regulate diploma engineering was presented to the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The government on Tuesday introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to formally set up a National Defence University, alongside a separate bill seeking to establish an engineering regulatory council for diploma holders.
Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Sobita Gautam tabled the National Defence University Bill on behalf of Prime Minister and Defence Minister Balendra Shah, according to reports by Onlinekhabar and its English edition. Gautam told the lower house that the university aims to prepare military and civilian personnel to handle complex geopolitical shifts and evolving security challenges through specialised instruction and research in national defence, strategic studies, and foreign affairs. She noted that statutory grounding is now necessary because physical construction work on the university’s campus is approaching completion.
State-run daily Gorkhapatra reported that the institution traces back to a policy commitment made in the fiscal year 2020/21 budget programme, followed by an infrastructure formation order that took effect in mid-April 2020. The proposed law converts that provisional development committee into a permanent, autonomous statutory body headquartered at Perungedanda in Banepa, Kavrepalanchok.
Under the drafted legislation, the prime minister will serve as chancellor and university head, while the defence minister will act as pro-chancellor, Onlinekhabar reported. The university's supreme governing body, the Assembly, will include the Chief of the Army Staff as an ex officio member. Crucially, the military leadership is granted central authority over senior appointments: a panel headed by the army chief—with the Director General of Military Training serving as member-secretary—will recommend candidates for the vice-chancellor and registrar positions.
The bill also stipulates that an active Major General of the Nepali Army will head the constituent National Defence College as education officer, while military personnel may be deputed to run university operations, according to Onlinekhabar English. Gorkhapatra added that the institution can affiliate several existing security academies, including the Army Command and Staff College, the Military War College, the Nepal Police Staff College, the Armed Police Force Command and Staff College, and educational arms under the National Investigation Department.
During the same legislative session, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Development Sunil Lamsal tabled the Diploma Engineering Council Bill 2083, Nagarik News reported. Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal allowed the motion after no lawmaker registered a formal notice of opposition under parliamentary rules. Lamsal told parliament that the legislation would establish a dedicated council to register credentials, enforce professional codes of conduct, and oversee technical standards in the diploma engineering profession.