Introduction
The present scenario of higher education in Nepal is a
revelation of a higher degree of influence of global tendencies and dynamics of
education. Education as an enterprise has grown wider with more people pursuing
education realising its importance in improvement of life style, personal
development and social accomplishments. However, education, on the whole, has
become a big challenge for everyone including students, teachers, educational
leaders, scholars, academicians and the government.
With growing
competitions and demand for education, educational sector has earned a credit
for its maximum support to the country’s economy as the largest provider of
employment to the educated masses. Furthermore, every institution envisions,
either explicitly or implicitly, its expansion in size and number of students. Their
objective in a broader sense is directed towards realization of the
significance of qualitative approach to reach quantitative goals.
The study makes an
attempt to explore forces that activate qualitative approaches and issues that
undermine quality in Higher Education in Nepal.
Background to the study
I had never
imagined before about the tremendous impact of global market, guiding principles,
policies and various other factors that affect the quality of teaching and
learning in HE. It is the knowledge gained through various narratives and literatures
on perspectives of quality assurance, learning space, flipped classroom,
accreditation, significance of technology and so forth with reference to the
universities of Australia, Hong kong and a few others that have guided and
sharpened my thoughts and curiosities leading to my exploration of perspectives
on qualitative approaches in HE.
In Nepal many
students go abroad for higher education in the pursuit of quality education and
international degree. According to UNESCO Institute of Statistics, over 24,000
Nepali students have gone overseas from 2008 to 2010 (Global Education Digest,
2012 as cited in Clark, 2013). The major reasons presented by Clark (2013) for
this type of tendency in the overflow of students are the lack of quality in
domestic institutions, limited admissions in best institutions, political
instability and politicization of university campuses, and lack of merit based
jobs opportunities for universities graduates. The figure below presents a
comparative study of student demography in overseas universities.
The figure above
clearly represents USA as the largest destination for Nepali students pursuing
higher studies in three years of time followed by Australia, Japan, India, UK
and Cyprus.
The failure of
domestic institutions to provide education to students is an indication of
greater degree of changes necessary for quality education in the country. Dr
Tirth Raj Khaniya’s (2009) study on policies of HE reflects the failure of the
proposition of the National Education Commission. The National Education
Commission established the idea of “multi- universities” in 1992 in the wake of
huge proliferation of students in various institutions especially in TU
(Tribhuvan University). The main purpose of this new idea was to:
·
Set
up one university in each development region (there are five development
regions in Nepal).
·
Provide
higher education to all qualified and talented individuals.
However, the party politics took
precedence over professional inputs and repudiated the whole idea before it was
put into practice. From another perspective, this was a good lesson for the
entire educational sector to think that universities should be based on
“knowledge empire” instead of “territorial empire” (Khaniya, 2009).
Though the rate
of student enrolment irrespective of caste and socio-economic background of
students is high in TU, the standard of quality education is low. According to UGC
annual report, 2005/06, total number 0f students in TU is 231,539, followed by
Purvanchal University with 8,812, Pokhara University 5615, Nepal Sanskrit
University 2164, B.P Koirala Health Science Academy 721 and National Academy of
Medical Science with 125 students (Parajuli et al., 2008). The fundamental
focus of these universities is towards improving quality in teaching and
learning.
Qualitative
Forces
A
qualitative approach to education is an important aspect of higher education to
realize it in the form of transformation in terms of evaluation, quality
assurance, human resource, infrastructures, technology and so forth. These are
the forces responsible for validity of overall judgement and development of the
educational institutions. Some of them are as follow.
Effective Evaluation
Educational evaluation can be an
effective tool to measure organisational outcomes, effectiveness of various
inputs, significance of practices and validity of implementations, thereby
opening gates for further strategic plans for broader and more effective
changes towards greater goals.
In Nepal amidst unique social practices and
cultural values that affect human behaviour, attitude and habits, a transition
to reconceptualization of educational evaluation is the need of the present
time. However, Benjamin and Monica’s (1998) three dimensional model of
evaluation can be a role model for educational institutions in Nepal. Their
model consists of intrinsically correlated aspects of utopias/ideals, knowledge
and social practice. They believe that evaluation helps to draw a line that
demarcates the ideal from what is achieved. It is a social construct in which
evaluation process is affected by social policies and reforms. It is necessary
to strengthen the capacity of society to promote a cultural that will transform
the isolated testing system into open social learning. I believe an effective
evaluation can lead to enhancement and changes in institutional structures,
resources, culture and values, some of which are as follow.
·
Explore weaknesses and
strengths of the organisation.
·
Restructure institutional
arrangements.
·
Expand human
resources.
·
Enhance teaching-
learning process.
·
Develop educational
research.
·
Establish value- based
organisation culture.
·
Implement effective
leadership practice.
It is not easy
to think of possibilities of changing the existing culture and social practices
but liability to necessary changes and alterations can be thought of
maintaining the same cultural values and practices. In this regard, it is
important to reckon the ways for effective implementation of policies in
accordance with the result of a successful evaluation. So, an effective
evaluation can make much difference in the whole education system of the
country.
Quality Assurance and Improvement
The concept of
quality assurance and improvement in higher education in Nepal is complex
because of social and political control of the education system. Educational
institutions have to narrow the gap between theories and practice in terms of
embracing ways for quality assurance.
The University Grants Commission (UGC, Nepal)
has initiated a very positive step by launching Quality Assurance &
Accreditation (QAA) program which aims at making reforms in higher education in
Nepal. It has formed a committee called QAAC (Quality Assurance &
Accreditation Committee) for the development and implementation of QAA
activities in higher education in Nepal.
QAAC has laid emphasis on two forces that
influence quality assurance in Nepal.
Internal forces
These
include:
· Strategic
planning
· Role of
the faculty and the university
·
Program
design & approval
· Validation
· Services
· Annual
course monitoring
· Student
assessment & course monitoring
· Teaching&
learning process
External forces
These
include:
· Regulatory
bodies
· International
collaborations
· Funding
· Government
requirements
· External
examiners
· Professional
bodies
QAAC has set certain benchmarks or criteria for accreditation consisting of the
following eight aspects.
· Policy
and procedures
· Curriculum
aspects
· Teaching-
learning & evaluation
· Research consultancy
& extension
· Infra-
structure & learning resources
· Student
support & guidance
· Information
System
· Public information
The concept of
benchmark and accreditation is very important to meet the challenges of 21st
century higher education Issues and it also forms an excellent basis of value
judgement and evaluation of the progress of universities. Without any criteria
and accreditation I believe universities will be simply running its system in
the dark. According to Tiwari (2010), benchmarking acts as an effective way to
ensure proper use of public funding, cross cultural border opportunities,
competition in the global markets, technological endeavours, and help
institutions work in a more professional way.
The parameters set
by QAAC can be deemed to be necessary and detrimental to the ways the
universities are proceeding for quality approval and recognition. Though as a
qualitative force it has given a good start, still there is a long way for the
Nepalese institutions to implement and amend ways for attaining higher goals in
education.
Developed Infrastructures
Developed physical
infrastructures such as comfortable classrooms, sufficient and proper
washrooms, library service, laboratories, auditorium, playgrounds, vehicle parking,
recreation centres, gym facilities and so forth form an integral part of
quality assurance and accreditation, and exert great force on qualitative
approaches to education. In Nepalese institutions infrastructures play a
significant role in all levels of schools and higher education institutions. It
is because of the fact that an institution with well- developed infrastructures
is a reflection of a long term vision, strategic plan and organised system
which speak of quality in itself.
In Nepalese
institutions the concept of physical learning space has elicited enthusiastic
enquiry into qualitative approaches derived from global impacts of education.
However, long term strategic plans and appropriate implementation policy are
fundamental requisites to such changes in any institution. According to
Jefferey (2014), during strategic planning, unmet facility space needs often
emerge. The goal of educational planning is to develop, clarify or review the
educational mission, vision, philosophy, curriculum and instructional delivery.
This is suggestive of a broader and long ranging vision and strategic plans
involving scholars, experts, local community and various other stakeholders.
Furthermore, physical
learning space not only provides a conducive learning environment to students
but also constitutes a key ingredient of quality in education. There is much to
understand from the fact that a well- designed and sophistically arranged
classroom draws attraction and attention of students in learning. Besides,
students can play an influential role in bringing long term improvements in
physical learning space. Their voice can exert rigorous effects in planning and
designing of institutional physical facilities such as construction of buildings
and implementation of various facilities in the institution.
Role of ICT
ICT (information and
Communication Technology) fosters students’ creativity and help them to utilize
their knowledge and skills for better learning outcomes. In developing countries like Nepal ICT is
drawing more importance because of the prevailing perception of abandoning
traditional methodologies and adopting more recent and technologically enriched
methodologies. In some of the Nepalese universities for instance in Kathmandu
University (a Private University) much emphasis is laid on ICT whereas in
government run universities traditional ways persist.
In Nepal the new
socio- political set up formed by the new government is bent on new knowledge
and new development works. Here the main concern of the government lies in
innovations and development changes through education. Moreover, such changes and development can be only possible
through the inclusion of and emphasis on ICT as an integral part of institutional
policies, activities and curriculum. Interestingly, this idea goes in line with
Neil’s (2011) concept of knowledge society in which ICT is integrated with
education and development. In such society knowledge is a source of primary
production instead of capital and labour. In the words of Neil (2011), “The
knowledge society creates, shares and uses knowledge for the prosperity and
well- being of its people.”
Neil’s (2011)
model of knowledge society is an indicator of a long term learning process
where widespread use of ICT generates a need for a new digital skills and
competence for employment, education and training, self- development, and
participation in society. ICT plays a significant role in improving the quality
of learning, educational resources and management efficiencies of an
institution.
From the
perspective of political significance, in educational institutions highly
influenced by political dominance as in the case of higher education
institutions in Nepal, ICT can implicitly play a dramatic role in binding
together contradictory and conflicting visions and concepts into more
collaborative and consolidated outputs. In short, people will learn to work
complying with team work values as dictated by technology.
Blended Learning
Blended learning
is a unique and an interesting mode of learning that combines the elements of
face- to- face learning, online learning, self-paced learning along with media
learning to achieve certain learning outcomes. To extend it further “a learning
solution created through a mixture of face- to- face, live- e- learning, self-
paced learning as well as through a mix of media” (International Seminar on
Future Informational Technology & Management Engineering, 2008).
Reasons for growing significance of blended learning in traditional teaching:
·
Flexibility
and freedom of learning as a positive influencing factor in teaching- learning
process
·
Covers
broader aspects of knowledge and learning within specific time frame.
·
Easily
manageable teaching practice to mitigate the burden of large group of students
because of higher enrolment rate.
·
Reduces
the load of textbooks.
·
Makes
learning interesting, accessible and affordable.
The
pros and cons of blended learning are as follow.
Advantages
·
Blended
Learning (BL) seems to be very beneficial to students of different faculties
such as education, business, school of nursing and so forth.
·
Fosters
faster learning and wide coverage of useful learning materials.
·
Based
on Smyth’s (2012) studies on students’ experience of BL:
·
BL
provides flexible learning experience with no place bounds, autonomous
learning, capabilities to problem solving and more learning.
·
Nursing
students could get useful information online and apply in their practical life.
·
Students
could consolidate their learning in part through physical learning.
Disadvantages
·
BL
mars the essence of teaching by seizing the innate capabilities and
spiritualism.
·
Lack
of balance between online contents and face-to- face delivery (Margaret, 2011).
·
Based
on Smyth’s studies (2012):
·
Social
interaction limited
·
Overwhelming
and tiring experience
·
Internet
connectivity as an issue in some geographical areas.
·
Absence
of prompt feedback from teachers.
In Nepal the
concept of blended learning is very new and so far no institution has adopted
this new type of teaching mode. However, the prevailing trend is distributed
mode of education especially in Tribhuvan University. Tribhuvan University is
largely based in Kathmandu but in recent years affiliated colleges have emerged
which are very small and specialised. The majority of these colleges offer
management, humanities and/or education degrees and only a few offer science
degree. The curriculum for all programmes is set by the central faculty in
Kathmandu and delivered primarily by lectures at different colleges. So it is a
type of distributed education which differs from the distributed mode of other
countries (Frank & Robin, 2007).
Overall, in Nepal,
practice of blended learning is not possible in education sector which is still
devoid of basic technological flow. However, the idea of blended learning mode
may be a source of inspiration for integrating technology in curriculum in the
future.
Human Resource Development and Retention
It needs no
exaggeration that a good teacher is not only a source of inspiration for
students but is also a great pathfinder of their success. They are the real
assets who can make things happen in terms of quality in an institution. So,
institutions should make policies to develop and retain such human resources in
order to maintain their quality in education. In this regard, human resource
management becomes as important as curriculum or assessment in any educational
institution. It is an essential tool to monitor, activate and retain staff in a
day- to- day institutional activities of the educational process for achieving
the target goals and objectives of the institution.
According to Dutta
(2009), Human Resource Management (HRM) applies management principles in
procuring, developing and maintaining people in the organisation. It aims at
integrating decision making with decisions on different aspects of employees. In
a particular socio- cultural context, it is not easy to manage people and evaluate
their work in terms of their contribution and capacities in the organisation.
Dutta’s (2009)
model of scope of human resource management as shown above consists of various
aspects such as procurement, remuneration, motivation, maintenance, industrial
relation, prospects and nature introduction inextricably intertwined in a
multi- directional way. As explicitly revealed in the figure, the scope of HRM
is a complex maze of intertwined entities that constitute a large portion of
institutional operational framework. This also points out to the need of strong
leadership skills and strategies in the analysis of the immediate requirements
and long term visions of the organisation.
According to Sinha
(1992), human resource planning should include the following steps.
·
Monitor
and evaluate human resource performance
·
Continuous
review
·
Online
planning and updating
·
Establish
human resource planning and monitoring unit
·
Assessment
of previous human resource objectives to ensure whether accomplished or not
·
Monitor
new problems that may have surfaced
Staff Retention Measures
In my view the
following measures can be employed by higher education institutions for staff
retention.
·
Administrative
support
·
Proper
management and governance
·
Attractive
salaries and benefits
·
Conducive
work environment and staff safety
·
Career
building and promotion
·
Professional
trainings
·
Effective
instructional and ethical leadership practice
·
Motivation
and inspiration
·
Welcome
new knowledge, greater learning and enthusiasm
Factors Suppressing
Qualitative Forces in Nepalese Higher Education Institutions
There are certain
factors that are hindrances to the flow of qualitative forces in higher
education institutions. They are as follow.
·
Political
instability
·
Extreme
political dominance
·
Lack
of visionary leadership
·
Inadequate
human resource planning and policies
·
Inadequate
research
·
Traditional
teaching methodologies
·
Wide
gaps between curriculum objectives and industrial demands
·
Inadequate
technology
·
Inadequate
funds and government support
Recommendations for
Qualitative Progress
Though most of the
requirements essential for qualitative approaches to education have already
been discussed above, there are some which need special attention. They are as
follow.
·
Distance
education from party politics
·
Design
curriculum in line with industrial needs
·
Integrate
ICT in education
·
Focus
on learning space
·
Focus
on research- based learning and development of research
·
Develop
and retain human resources
·
Develop
professionalism through trainings and workshops
·
Establish
educational link with overseas institutions.
·
Build
continuous link with various stakeholders
Conclusion
At present the
whole higher education system in Nepal is quality focused but the fact that
certain internal and external forces mar the very essence of quality education,
makes it paradoxical. There are undoubtedly great challenges to be met and
hindrances to be overcome in the qualitative approaches of the educational
institutions. An overnight paradigm shift in education is next to impossible
but adherence to making certain gradual radical changes can be a giant step
towards quality assurance and improvement in higher education in Nepal.
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