education policy not clear

Dr. Subarna Lal Bajracharya, Ph. D in Financial Management (Delhi University, India) is the chairman of Asian College of Higher Studies and campus chief of Public Youth Campus. He is also a licensed auditor, associate director, Association for Research and Management Service, faculty board member, Faculty of Management of T.U among many other positions that he holds. With a diverse interest besides education, he has also been working as a consultant off and on with various international agencies. Subarna worked as an assistant professor in Public Youth Campus for eight years. The Independent spoke to him about the state of education in Nepal recently. The excerpts:

Q: How would you evaluate the state of the education sector here today, especially the higher education?

A: There has been a big change in the education sector after the introduction of private sector. The university is so overloaded with work that it is unable to carry out its duties efficiently; to the extent that they are unable to conduct examinations and taking out its results on time. There are also many hindrances in the form of politics and strikes that really eat into the precious time of the students. Due to these reasons and others, the quality of education has taken a nose dive in the past decade. With the entry of private sector, the quality of education has improved.

Q: What do you say about the colleges run not by professionals but by business people and their unmonitored fees structure?

A: This is a problem. Colleges run by education professionals are entirely different from those run by business people. But the latter category do know how to attract people by various means such as attractive adverts, promises and so on. Some promises do sound far fetched like the one that promises medical seats for three students, abroad! And the fee structure is up to the institutes, they can charge as much as they like.

Q: Should not the government monitor these institutions?

A: Definitely. All the claims that private institutes make should be checked and verified; so there is no room for scams. Those who survive on the strength of false claims should not be allowed to operate.

Q: What do you think is the main stumbling block in our education system?

A: I think it is the policy of our government that are not clear cut, they keep changing and they are not even reviewed well. They design and implement the course but in practice, rarely are the courses completed, even rare that the students have digested what they are supposed to have learnt. Once a student appears for an examination and gets a certificate, it is believed that the student has learned all that is prescribed in the course, but such cases in reality would prove to be an exception to the rule. In government run campuses, only fifty per cent of the courses are completed and students have to appear for exams nevertheless. They thus depend on guide books and tuition that are getting increasingly commercialised. Even if the students pass, they score very low. The government must have a firm realistic approach.

The courses should be studies in depth and pre determined whether they can be completed within the stipulated time. The government run colleges hold barely 100 days of classes in a year whereas, we in the private sector manage about 200 days. Even so, it gets very tough for us to complete the course; despite our additional study hours.

Another glaring drawback is that the courses are designed mainly for colleges inside the capital only. They should have kept in mind the man power and the back ground of the students that come from backward and remote places while designing the course for colleges outside the city.

Q: How practical are the courses in real life application?

A: This course that was designed four years ago is much more practical than the previous one. But the way it is taught is not practical, the learning process is not up to date. They are still following the lecture method and do not teach through field works, case studies, projects etc.

Q: Are the courses taught here are on par with the international standards?

A: If the courses are taught properly and thoroughly and if the students work very hard, then definitely, they can compete at the international level.

Q: There was a seminar held recently to devise a policy for higher education. What do you think should be incorporated in the policy?

A: This time, the government is focussing on decentralisation of the colleges that come under the university; in terms of fee collection, making the results accessible to students from remote areas and so on.

This would especially help in de-rusting the examination system and lessen the suffering of under privileged students.

Q: How can the expensive private colleges be more accessible to the general public?

A: Private colleges are forced to hike up their rates mainly due to the steep rent that they have to pay. If the government would extend a helping hand in this matter, the tuition fees could be reduced drastically.

Q: How can the widening gap between the public and the private colleges be lessened?

A: The gap is created from the school level itself. The difference in the products from public and private schools is glaring - in terms of quality. The government should work at improving the standard of the public schools as well as that of colleges.

Q: You are also a member of CEDA (Centre for Economic Development and Administration); what has it been doing?

A: I’ve recently been transferred to this organisation. CEDA, I regret to say is going down due to invasion of politics; political appointees etc. and as a result, the management is getting poorer. At one time it had a very good name; not anymore.

Q: There are many research organisations in private and public sector. Have they been giving inputs to the government in its policy formulation - most importantly, does the government seek the inputs?

A: The government is not interested in taking inputs from the research centres. They do not seek their help. And the researchers are not the kind who would like to indulge in buttering up those in power to have their voice heard. The government, if it is interested should approach the organisations and they would only be too glad to help. But international agencies do seek the research organisation’s help.

Q: Is education merely earning a certificate?

A: It is much more than that. A college graduate should be able to create a job rather than merely be a job seeker. Technical education has a big role to play here.

Q: What is your opinion on distance education, diplomas and other courses? Do you think they should be recognised by our university?

A: It is a good trend that is here to stay. They must be recognised. Our education system must move along with the changing times and should not stick to its conservative do’s and don’ts. Our policies should be revised. There are so many changes in the demands of the society today that the professional courses far outweigh the traditional academic education. We too are considering coming up with such professional courses.

Q: Is our examination system healthy? Do students really absorb anything that is of use in practical life at the end of it all?

A: The traditional system of mugging the whole year and literally vomiting it out at the end of the year is rather unhealthy. A constant monitoring, evaluating, assessing system should exist, so that not only the true potential of a student is recognised but the weaknesses too come out in the open and they can acted upon.

Yes, I agree, there are people who have done their masters and yet cannot write a correct sentence or tackle a simple office job efficiently. Here, the system is to be blamed that encourages them to rely heavily on guide books that sometimes contain questions that later appear during the examinations! We need to shift our concentration from merely obtaining a degree to creating an education system that teaches well and creating a system where the students learn well. Those who give out jobs should no longer consider the academic qualifications as the only criteria and should give equal importance to other professional courses and life experience as well.

Q: Respect for teachers is going out of fashion. Teachers these days face threats from students. Moral teaching is outdated. What is your opinion on this state of affairs?

A: I am facing this problem in my college too. And the strange thing is, when you complain to the parents about their ward’s behaviour, they do not react, least of all act on it. Moral teaching is lacking - at the basic levels - at home and at schools. This aspect should be taken seriously by the parents as well as the schools. Teachers too should conduct themselves and their jobs with respect, responsibly and earn respect. It goes both ways.