Nepal cabinet fills key posts: UGC chair, Investment Board CEO appointed

Nepal's government has filled key leadership positions in education and investment. Khadga Bahadur KC, formerly the rector of Tribhuvan University, has been appointed as the new chairperson of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

KC, a professor at Tribhuvan University's Central Department of International Relations and Diplomacy, had previously resigned as rector in April after an ordinance required office bearers to step down. The UGC chairperson role had been vacant since Dev Raj Adhikari resigned following the same ordinance.

Professor Roji Shrestha, a nursing academic, was appointed as the commission's member secretary. Both KC and Shrestha were appointed without facing a competitive selection process, despite the Ministry of Education receiving around 60 applications for the positions.

In a separate decision, the Cabinet appointed development economist Yanki Ukyab as the chief executive officer of the Investment Board Nepal. Ukyab, who has served as a senior policy adviser for the United Nations Development Programme's Asia-Pacific regional office, was selected from a field of eight candidates after a recommendation committee shortlisted contenders. She holds master's degrees from the University of Oxford and the University of Missouri.

“

The appointments were approved at a Cabinet meeting.