8th week Quality assurance and improvement in HE

     The concept of quality assurance and improvement in HE in Nepal is complex as the social and political influences greatly affect the entire education system. The problems are generally contextual in terms of the goals and the concepts and process of quality assurance in everywhere in the world. According to Houstan (as cited in Kim & Thomas, 2012) the concept of quality is problematic and contested in HE due to perception of different stakeholders whose views range from economic to social perspectives. In the context of TU, (Tribhuvan University- the largest state owned university in Nepal) though much emphasis is laid on development of physical infrastructure, faculty proliferation and quality education, not much has been accomplished in comparison to global markets on account of political influence and the government policies.

                                                            Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

     In terms of quality assurance the University Grants Commission (UGC) has initiated a very positive step by launching Quality Assurance & Accreditation (QAA) program which aims at making reforms in HE in Nepal. It has formed a committee called QAAC (Quality Assurance & Accreditation Committee) for the development and implementation of QAA activities in HE in Nepal.

     QAAC has laid emphasis on two forces that influence quality assurance in Nepal.
Internal forces 
These include:

·         Strategic planning

·         The 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 21^st century HE Issues and it also forms a good 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 Uday K. Tiwari (2010) benchmarking acts an effective way to ensure proper use of public funding, cross cultural border opportunities, competition in the global markets, technological endeavors and help institutions work in more professional ways.

     From grass root level universities in Nepal should must stick to building healthy organisational culture through effective management practice. A supportive organisational culture supports the effective implementation of quality management system (Corbett & Rastrick, 2000 as cited in Kim & Thomas, 2012). Culture can play a crucial role as a binding force that brings together various key elements of quality management ranging from effective teaching to technology, human resource management and so forth. In contrast an adverse political influence or intervention may engender what we can relate it to as bad culture which will have negative repercussion on the whole management system.

     So, in order to meet the benchmarks and accreditation of QAAC the Nepalese HE institutions must make a revolution in terms of effective policies, sound organisation culture, quality education, ICT, proper human resource management, proliferation of faculties and changes in institutional arrangements.

References

Kim, O. Mahony & Thomas, N. Garavan (2012). Implementing a quality managent frame work in a higher education organisation. A case study.vol. 20 No. 2, pp 184-200, Emerald Group Publishing Ltd., DOI: 10.1108/09684881211219767

The Quality Assurance & Accreditation- University Grants   Commission, retrieved May 16, 2014 from http//www.ugc.nepal.edu.np

Tiwari, U.K. (2010). Find out the major problems of PCL phase out. A Research Report, retrieved May 16 from http//www.hseb.edu.np