Central Department of Chemistry

Chemistry is regarded as heart of all the scientific disciplines. For long time in the last century, chemical industries had been considered even as index of national development. In this context, the history of Chemistry Education in our country is relatively new. The teaching of Chemistry in Nepal commenced in 1921 in Tri-Chandra College, with the introduction of Intermediate of Science (I. Sc.) program, which was then upgraded to Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.) level in 1947. Tribhuvan University (TU) named after the late king Tribhuvan, was established by promulgating the Tribhuvan University Act in July 14, 1959. Master’s Degree in Chemistry was started only from December 1965 initially at Tri-Chandra College with the introduction of a program in Organic Chemistry. This historical step also pioneered the introduction of research initiatives in Chemistry in Nepal. Late Professor Prasanna Man Singh Pradhan was the first the Lecturer-in-Charge of the Master’s program. The present Chemistry building within the University complex was inaugurated in August 17, 1966 and the Department of Chemistry then started to function in its own building at the University complex. Master’s Degree programs in Inorganic and Physical Chemistry were introduced in 1966 and 1967, respectively. Late Professor Dr. Dhruba Man Singh Amatya was formally appointed as the first Head of the Department in 1966 and he remained to that post up to 1984. After Professor Amatya Professor Dr. S. P. Dhoubhadel, Professor Dr. C. L. Gajurel, Professor J. K. Shrestha, Professor Dr. M. D. Manandhar, Professor Dr. R. R. Pradhananga and Professor Dr. Tulsi Prasad Pathak were appointed as Head of Central Department of Chemistry during the period in between 1984-2009. Professor Dr. Kedar Nath Ghimire, Prof. Dr. Megh Raj Pokhrel, and Prof. Dr. Ram Chandra Basnyat were HOD from 2009-2014,  2014-2018, and 2018-2022; respectively. Current HOD is Prof. Dr. Jagadeesh Bhattarai. Since its establishment, Central Department of Chemistry has been awarding Master’s and Ph. D. Degrees in Chemistry. In 1965, only 20 students were enrolled in M. Sc. while the number of students’ enrollment is rapidly increasing year-by-year. For the last few years the number of students’ enrollment per year has been fixed to ninety. Master’s Degree program is designed for completion in four semesters [semester system started from January 2014] but we do annual enrollment (maximum 90 seats) in merit basis. Master’s Degree program in Chemistry has been recently started at Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus (maximum 90 seats), Kathmandu; Mahendra Morang Adarsha Multiple Campus, Biratnagar (maximum 30 seats); Birendra Multiple Campus, Bharatpur (maximum 60 seats) and Amrit Campus (maximum 45 seats), Kathmandu.