Nepal, May 30 — The issue of age limits in student leadership has long been a matter of intense debate. How long one can remain a student has sparked extensive discussions among various student organizations. Ultimately, the Nepal Student Union (NSU), affiliated with the Nepali Congress, became the first organization to enforce a maximum age limit of 32 years for student members.
NSU President Dujang Sherpa enforced the 32-year age limit for student leadership during his tenure and won the presidency under that rule. He said major student organizations introduced the age cap to ensure genuine students address real student issues.
Sherpa said NSU set the 32-year limit based on the belief that only actual students should lead student organizations.
In the past, many individuals dropped out of school and stayed disconnected from studies but continued to hold positions in student organizations solely to pursue politics. Their estrangement from academic life and lack of understanding of generational issues made it difficult to address the real problems faced by students actively enrolled in colleges. Long-serving student leaders also blocked young students from entering student politics.
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NSU President Dujang Sherpa said, “We, the students of NSU, demanded that real students should lead student organizations-and the organization acted on that demand.” He added, “We introduced the 32-year age limit to ensure genuine students could take on leadership roles.”
He stressed, “When real students lead, they understand classroom pressures, exam stress, grades, and student concerns-and they lead accordingly.”
Bijay Sapkota, president of the Revolutionary Student Organization affiliated with the CPN (Maoist Center – Dahal faction), said student organizations can address the real issues of college and university students more effectively under genuine student leadership. He explained that his organization introduced the 32-year age limit through a majority vote during its 23rd general convention.
“When we voted on the age limit proposal, it passed by a margin of 21 votes. After we approved the statute, I became president of the Revolutionary Student Organization under those rules,” Sapkota told Republica. “I’m a postgraduate science student at PN Campus in Pokhara. Our student organization also pushed for a 28-year age limit for student union leadership,” he added. “This move has created space for real students to step into leadership roles in student politics.”
“Now that students lead student organizations, younger generations have become more politically enthusiastic,” said Sapkota. “We’ve removed the bottleneck where individuals held the same post for 10 years. After we passed the 32-year age limit in our Revolutionary Student Organization, about 600 former student leaders transitioned into the party. That shift created space for a new generation to step into student politics.”
He argued that the 32-year age cap has helped eliminate the sense of political disillusionment among younger students. “Students born after 2006 BS are already fluent with modern technology, unlike many of the older student leaders,” Sapkota said. “With new leadership in place, student organizations can now design policies and programs that reflect real classroom issues, teaching practices, and broader educational challenges.”
Samik Badal, president of the ANNFSU (All Nepal National Free Students’ Union) affiliated with the CPN-UML, said the UML Secretariat has decided to implement the 32-year age limit in ANNFSU as well. “The 32-year age limit has increased the chances of real students taking leadership roles,” Badal told Republica. “We will officially set the age limit for leadership at 32 during the ANNFSU general convention scheduled for June 8-11.”
He emphasized, “We are discussing the procedures to implement this. Since all major student organizations have already adopted the 32-year limit, ANNFSU will follow suit.”
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Republica.
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