I was pleasantly shocked when I learned that the country’s reputed, oldest, and largest Tribhuvan University (TU) has recently adopted and implemented a long-cherished policy in which students from other disciplines, rather than English/Nepali, could academically study English/Nepali.
I was further amazed to learn that some campuses under TU, including Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus, Kathmandu, popularly known as R R Campus, have been running online classes for postgraduates in the evening for a couple of years. It was like “Looking for a needle and finding gold” for me. What could be a better opportunity for students like me, whose passion for studying English literature by switching from other disciplines that had been left topsy-turvy and a dreamed career unpersuaded since I finished my Master's degree in Sociology almost 20 years ago, owing to both the unfavorable policy of TU and a hectic personal and professional schedule?
Thus, I wasted no minutes communicating with the campus’s administration for further procedural details for admission. Then, I got my cake and had it, too, when I got a chance to enroll by meeting all the essential requirements last year, and on top of that, based on the merit obtained from the entrance exams, I also got a chance to attend online classes out of the limited seats available. Based on my one year’s experience of the online classes, I realized that our RR Campusis no longer distant away being a world-class education, to our matter of pride.
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The online-classes began exactly as per the pre-published schedule. I entered the team meeting with the excess provided by the admin. As a student, it was my first attendance in the class after almost a gap of twenty years from university life. The excitement to meet new friends, the curiosity to learn about the professors and their skills and styles they apply, and the passion to savor the pulp of the text was still the same. Even after undergoing diverse professional experiences in between, including teaching in various private schools, column-writing in multiple print media, and running my school as a founder principal and other businesses, the student in me, I found, is still alive and vibrant.
I had never thought I could get this opportunity to be an active academic again before joining the college, which has been made possible only due to the availability of online classes, thanks to R R Campus. This facility of R R Campus’s online classes has become a game changer for students like me who are shouldering multiple responsibilities, such as family duties and professional commitments, yet having the undying passion of studying literature.
The faculty under the department headed by Prof. Motikala Subba includes veteran professors, including Prof. Dr. Hukum Thapa, Prof. Dr. Pradip Sharma, Prof. Dr. Khemananda Aryal, Prof. Laxman Bhatt, Prof. Rajendra Acharya, and Prof. Janak Paudel, to name some who are the treasure of knowledge in their respective area. With the world-class course of studies being applied, all the faculty are so friendly and so cooperative with the students that one can share everything related to his/her studies and get an incredible response in return. Even the students in the online classes are from various backgrounds and streams, who are engaged in various professions, and are so mature and competent that the classes are incredibly interactive and productive beyond one’s expectations. Understanding and cooperating among the students so intimately make us feel that we are enjoying things more than a physical class can offer. As the courses require incredibly active, creative, and innovative participation from the students, one will get dramatically transformed in terms of pragmatic knowledge after completing the 4th semester.
Moreover, the flexibility in scheduling and access to learn from any location make the R R online class amazingly helpful for students to balance their academic goals with their personal and work-related obligations. This mode of education thus reduces the need for commuting, saving time and energy that can instead be invested elsewhere in family care, career development, or anywhere needed.
Furthermore, the permission to record lectures on our own separate devices or resources, as it’s prohibited in Teams, enables us to study at our own pace, ensuring that no lesson is missed due to unavoidable responsibilities. In essence, the R R’s online classes provide a supportive and adaptable learning environment, empowering us to pursue higher education without compromising our other duties is truly praiseworthy and an exemplary initiative even for others to follow.
Entailing the gamut to the spectrum of breakthroughs made by R R Campus so far, both of these services have helped not only in matching the international standard but also in retaining the students in the country amidst the exponentially growing exodus of students looking for better studies abroad. The exodus of students is a serious concern today in Nepal. It’s so high that if this trend continues, schools and colleges in Nepal, including the country, will suffer heavily.
According to recent data, over 100,000 Nepali students went abroad in 2023 for higher education. This represents a significant number, with 112,000 students receiving No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology to study abroad in the fiscal year 2023/24. Furthermore, Nepal Rastra Bank reported that over Rs. 125 billion was spent on higher education expenses overseas during the same period. And, this data keeps souring as observed over the past few years. Isn’t it a significant irrecoverable loss to the country? Who is to blame for this?
