Nepal PM Balen Shah Unveils Sweeping Reforms, Bans Student Politics Within 48 Hours Of Taking Office

Last Updated:March 30, 2026, 15:52 IST

Balendra Balen Shah bans student politics, depoliticises bureaucracy, pushes education reforms, arrests KP Sharma Oli, and offers jobs to Gen Z protest victims.

Nepal’s newly sworn-in Prime Minister Balendra ‘Balen’ Shah has kicked off his tenure with an aggressive reform push, unveiling a 100-point action plan within 48 hours of taking office including one of the most controversial moves yet: a blanket ban on student politics.

At 35, the rapper-turned-politician became Nepal’s youngest Prime Minister in decades after his Rastriya Swatantra Party swept the March 5 national elections, riding a wave of youth anger, anti-establishment sentiment, and frustration with years of political instability.

But even as Balen Shah positions himself as the face of a new Nepal, one of his first major decisions has put him at odds with the very generation that helped bring him to power.

Student Politics Banned

The new government has ordered all political student unions to be removed from campuses, saying colleges and universities must be freed from partisan influence.

In their place, the government plans to create non-partisan student bodies such as “Student Council" or “Voice of Students" within the next 90 days.

The move is being pitched as a clean-up measure aimed at ending years of violence, vandalism, extortion, and disruption allegedly linked to party-affiliated student wings and Maoist-backed groups.

Balen Shah’s government argues that campuses have become overly politicised, with party flags overshadowing academics, exams being delayed, and teachers even coming under attack.

But critics say the ban could also undermine democratic participation and dismantle one of Nepal’s traditional entry points into political life.

Bureaucracy and Teachers to Be Depoliticised

In another major step, the new government has barred civil servants and teachers from maintaining party affiliations, and announced that partisan unions within state institutions will be dismantled.

Supporters say the move could reduce political interference in administration and improve governance.

Critics, however, argue that it may weaken workers’ collective rights and suppress institutional dissent under the guise of reform.

Big Changes in Education

The Balen government has also moved quickly on education reforms.

Among the key measures announced:

• The citizenship requirement for undergraduate admissions will be removed
• Strict academic calendars will be enforced for publishing exam results
• Internal exams up to Grade 5 will be scrapped and replaced with alternative assessments
• Institutions using foreign or elite-sounding names such as Oxford, Pentagon, St Joseph’s, and St Xavier’s will be asked to adopt more original names from this academic year onward

The changes are being projected as part of a wider effort to make Nepal’s education system more inclusive, less elitist, and less politically manipulated.

Crackdown on Former Power Centres

At the same time, the new government has also moved against key political rivals.

Former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was arrested on Saturday, a day after the Balen administration said it had begun implementing findings from a probe into last year’s Gen Z-led protests.

Former minister Ramesh Lekhak was also arrested in connection with the same case.

Both face charges linked to the alleged suppression of the September uprising, in which at least 77 people were killed.

The protests had originally erupted over a short-lived social media ban, but soon expanded into a larger anti-corruption and anti-establishment movement that ultimately brought down the Oli government.

In a separate case, MLA Rekha Sharma was arrested on Sunday night on charges of abusing a minor domestic worker over a period of eight years a case that had reportedly gone unpursued under the previous government.

Jobs for Families of Student Protesters

In a move likely aimed at reinforcing his reformist image, Balen Shah has also begun implementing a key promise made during his campaign: support for families of students killed during the Gen Z protests.

The government has announced that one eligible family member of each of the 27 student victims will be given a job.

The decision was approved in the first Cabinet meeting, and the Nepal Electricity Authority has already issued notices to begin the recruitment process.

As Balen Shah begins his term, his government appears to be moving at an unusual speed combining reform, symbolism, and confrontation. But whether this translates into lasting structural change or sparks a new cycle of backlash remains to be seen.

News world Nepal PM Balen Shah Unveils Sweeping Reforms, Bans Student Politics Within 48 Hours Of Taking Office

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