'Four-year bachelor’s program has added burden on students'

Official of TU proposes to reduce Bachelor’s degree to three-year graduation program again

KATHMANDU, July 22: The Dean of the Faculty of Education and Professor at Tribhuvan University, Chitra Bahadur Budhathoki, has presented a written proposal to the academic council for the continuation of the three-year graduation program of Tribhuvan University (TU), saying that the four-year graduation program has added burden on the students. This unexpected proposal has shocked students, parents and professors.

On June 29, Dean Budhathoki submitted a written proposal in a meeting of the TU Academic Council to reduce the four-year bachelor's program to three years for subjects other than the technical ones in the Faculty of Education.

Budathoki, who is also a member of TU Academic Council, said that the four-year bachelors program implemented by TU under the guidance of the World Bank could not be completed even in five and a half years in the Faculty of Education. Budathoki highlighted that this has increased the burden on the students. He said that the four-year graduation is too long and expensive and proposed to reduce the program to three years.

Budathoki said that he has proposed to implement a three year bachelor’s program as the number of students enrolling in the four-year bachelor's program, excluding IT and science-related courses, has decreased. It has indicated a decline in students' interest in pursuing lengthy courses, he said. Deans of other faculties discussed his proposal extensively in the Academic Council Meeting.

He argued that the government had made a policy that even three-year graduates could become school teachers. Dean Budhathoki said that other deans present also supported his proposal. According to him, graduation in most countries, except America, is three years. TU has already given equivalence to the programs of those countries. In such a situation, he believes that even in Nepal, if a three-year bachelor's degree is established, the course will align with international standards.

“The three-year graduate program has been continuing for four years since the fiscal year 2071/72 BS under the guidance of the World Bank. But due to various factors, including delays in conducting examinations and publishing results, it takes five and a half years for students to receive their transcripts," said Dean Budhathoki.

He claimed that the World Bank has created pressure in Nepal to match America's education. He added that although the officials of the TU discussed the proposal submitted by him, it was not passed.

"Our goal should be to produce skilled manpower for Nepal itself and not for America," said Dean Budhathoki, adding, "Britain, India and many European countries have a three-year bachelor's degree other than engineering, medical and technical subjects." He informed Republica that 70 percent of the students currently enrolled in the four-year bachelor's program under the Faculty of Education will drop out by the time they reach the final year. "Four-year graduation has become a financial burden for the children of the poor," he said.

He argued that when the universities around the world have become flexible by keeping both three-year and four-year bachelor’s programs depending on the nature of the courses, Nepal should not adhere to the traditional thinking.

“Under the World Bank's higher education project, a four-year bachelor's degree was established under pressure. The country did not discuss the pros and cons of the decision,” he said, adding, “Even the deans of humanities and management faculties have suggested to the Academic Council that there should be flexibility in offering both three-year and four-year programs, based on the nature of the subjects.”

According to Dilli Raj Sharma, Dean of the Faculty of Management, TU now emphasized that a comprehensive discussion should be held to determine the duration of the graduation program of each subject. He said that it would be appropriate to offer three-year programs in some management courses.

"In terms of management courses, to make the four-year course more practical, we should integrate the final year with industrial or business practices," suggested Dean Sharma."It is not about making all programs three years. The discussion is focused on revising the management course and integrating it with industries and businesses," added Dean Sharma.

Previously, Nepal had a two-year bachelor's degree program from 2046 BS to 2052 BS. It was later extended to a three-year bachelor's degree program from 2053 BS to 2070 BS, then from 2071 BS, it again extended to a four-year bachelor's degree program.

I have completed a two year bachelor’s degree program. Our two years were also globally recognized. Even at that time, the manpower produced by TU was eligible to get higher education in any university in the world," he said. "The only difference was that depending on the country, one intends to pursue further studies, the student has to take additional courses (crash course)," he added.

This arrangement has also been implemented in the graduation program of four-years. One can get admission in higher level only after studying additional courses as per the demand of the foreign university. According to Professor Dr Dhurba Kumar Gautam, director of office of Planning Directorate at TU, looking at the statistics of the last five years, the number of students in TU has increased. However, there are also students who drop out after joining. He said that there should be discussions about the reasons behind TU’s decision to extend the three-year course into a four-year program.

In the fiscal year 2072/73 BS, there were 360,254 students while in the year 2073/74 BS the number increased to 367,427 students. Similarly, according to the data provided by the Office of Planning Directorate at TU, it increased to 3,92,400 in the year 2074/75 BS, 4,15,482 in the year 2075/76 BS, and then to 422,653 in the year 2076/77 BS. It shows that students have not decreased in TU.

“The main challenge is the increase in dropout rates among enrolled students,” Director Gautam said. "The hasty decision is having a negative impact on higher education. It destroys education as a whole. A four-year degree has added financial, mental and time burdens to students,” he added.

“This is a subject of extensive discussion.”