The 50 years old university of Nepal, Tribhuvan University, that holds the scepter of imparting higher education in the country, has been overburdened and almost rendered non-functional with scores of problems that have caused its glory to fade steadily. Even other Nepali universities are not yet ready to take over the management of the tens of thousands of students and thousands of lecturers and employees as compared to that of TU.
It will not be possible to realize the dream of “New & Prosperous Nepal” unless the restructuring of universities is kept in mind as one of the topmost priorities.
So far there are 650 affiliate colleges under TU. The other three universities, Purvanchal University, Pokhara University and Kathmandu University have about 200 affiliate colleges spread across the country. They are usually community-based or privately-managed institutions. A strong preconceived notion among parents and students still looms vivid that TU-affiliated colleges and its curricula are better than those of others. It has become a unique selling point (USP) for many average or medium-standard colleges to lure students. One need not be taken by surprise when one sees mammoth billboards with “TU AFFILIATED” written in larger letters than the names of the colleges. This is quite common among a few other colleges affiliated to other national or even foreign universities.
Nepal, a newly-born republic, is now in the threshold of federal system which naturally is fraught with many new challenges and unknown consequences. Quality higher education will certainly be a top priority for every federal state as well as the central government. It is natural that priority will be given to the graduates of schools run by the various federal states either to fulfill the state quota or as a legal requirement. Then what will happen to those ‘average graduates’ who graduate from various universities that operate under the central government? This would obviously necessitate a Common Aptitude Test or National Service Examinations for both university enrollment as well as employment.
Given the above backdrop and the limited options on hand, it will be difficult for graduates from one state to compete in other states. This will create disparity and frustration among thousands of educated but unemployed graduates. It will not be possible to realize the dream of “New & Prosperous Nepal” unless the restructuring of universities is kept in mind as one of the topmost priorities. The lawmakers, political parties along with the Ministry of Education, University Grant Commission, National Planning Commission, donor agencies and all other stakeholders must work out a ‘framework’. Indeed, the establishment of an independent Accreditation Board could stand in good stead toward addressing many of these challenges.
It is in light of the above scenario that the concept of “education entrepreneurship” needs to be inculcated in our graduates to produce job-creators, not merely job-seekers. This can be achieved through proper intellectual brainstorming and rendering education sector apolitical, wherein knowledge, not political affiliation, ability and not favoritism or nepotism govern the entire system. This should also herald an atmosphere where multiple universities and multiple boards can co-exist simultaneously offering various disciplines and providing accessibility to all.
Apart from state and central universities in the federal setup, there should also be semi and/or fully-autonomous colleges model -- be it private or community-based. The results of students in grading scale or percentage of marks would not be that significant. On the contrary, the assessment of a graduate will be done on the basis of their aptitude, presentation skills and practical knowledge. This will create more competitive environment among the students. The roles of student unions and teachers unions will gradually decrease. The strikes, closures and tire-burning will become more an exception than a norm. Students will be evaluated directly by the professors. The college would be able to follow its own revised and rigorous curriculum endorsed by the Accreditation Board. Academic calendar will not suffer any more. Students will not have to leave examination hall early because of the other colleges forcing them to do so or they happen to have different types of question patterns or trends. Rather, students will be able to pinpoint on which date he or she will be conferred a degree amidst a much peaceful, colorful and meaningful convocation day every year.
Finally, in the long-run, a few select affiliate and constituent colleges of Nepal should be able to establish their own benchmarks and develop into centers of excellence. For example, the Institute of Engineering (IOE), Institute of Medicine (IOM), Rampur Agriculture Campus and a few technical colleges are autonomous within the TU system. Lately, similar concept has been applied in the university’s Faculty of Management (FoM) too. The Dean’s Office of FoM directly supervises the BBA & BHM (bachelor’s in hotel management) programs, which are highly acclaimed and have emerged as the most sought-after programs so far. There are only a few quality flagship bearers under the TU. Why aren’t dozens of other colleges that are reputed and running for more than a decade, have state-of-the-art infrastructure, learning resources, highly experienced pool of faculties and strong academic track record identified and given partial or full autonomy within the University system? Doing so will be a significant transitory step toward a full-fledged university from the existing status as an affiliate college. The institutional development process of the autonomous colleges will start spearheading rapidly. The Nepali academia, the government and the lawmakers should make this an agenda before they draft the new constitution for proper management of higher education institutions in Nepal.
(Writer is CEO, Himalayan White House Int’l College/General Secretary, HISSAN.)
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