Kathmandu, September 24: Professor Dr Suresh Raj Sharma, founding vice-chancellor of Kathmandu University (KU) and an educationist, has been cremated with state honours.
At Pashupati Aryaghat on Thursday, Minister for Education and Sports Sasmita Pokhrel draped the national flag over the mortal remains of the late Sharma and paid her respects. A contingent of the Nepal Police also offered a ceremonial salute during the final farewell.
The Ministry said Sharma was cremated with state honours following a decision by the Ministry of Home Affairs at the request of the Ministry of Education and Sports.
Minister Pokhrel, along with the ministry’s Chief Adviser Shailendra Jha and other officials, reached Aryaghat and paid their final respects to Sharma.
Earlier, a condolence book had been placed at the Ministry of Education. Minister Pokhrel, Ministry Secretary Chudamani Poudel, Chief Adviser Jha, and officials from the ministry and Kathmandu University signed the condolence book and paid tribute to Sharma.
Minister Pokhrel said Sharma’s death was an irreparable loss to the education sector and expressed condolences, on behalf of the ministry, to the bereaved family, relatives, colleagues and the Kathmandu University community.
She said the government was moving forward to fulfil Sharma’s dream of developing Kathmandu University as a fully autonomous institution.
While signing the condolence book, she said, “We will soon table a bill in Parliament to fulfil the late Sharma’s dream. A draft amendment to the law has already been prepared to transform Kathmandu University into a Board of Trustees model.”
Sharma, who was recognised as a leading figure in the development of higher and technical education in Nepal, died on Wednesday.
He led Kathmandu University for more than two decades and played a significant role in developing the university into an autonomous, high-quality educational institution with an international identity.
Sharma, who earned a PhD in chemistry from the United Kingdom, was also the founding director of the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT).
He travelled to Jumla, Jiri in Dolakha and Dhankuta to initiate technical education programmes in those areas.
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