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COVER STORY |
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COVER STORY |
TRIBHUVAN
UNIVERSITY A surge in the number of
institutions offering higher education in recent years has increased access by several
folds. However, a large number of students continue to seek admission at Tribhuvan
University's constituent and affiliated campuses, primarily because of the astoundingly
low fees they charge. Despite the expansion of physical facilities and growing investment,
there is not much room for satisfaction in the performance of the country's oldest and
largest university. Overcrowded classrooms, poorly paid teachers and ideologically
indoctrinated student unions, among other things, have created a mounting pile of
problems. TU's propensity to give in to all kinds of pulls and pressures has taken a heavy
toll on the quality of education. By KESHAB POUDEL "While the numbers of our students
proliferate, the level of edification does not keep pace. We continue to churn out ethical
illiterates and moral idiots. Our education continues to be value-agnostic and
value-neutral," wrote the late eminent Indian jurist Nani A. Palkhivala in his book
"We, the Nation, The Lost Decades". Although Palkhivala's grim verdict referred
to the state of education in India, it sufficiently encapsulates the plight of the
teaching-and-learning process in Nepal. During the last 50 years, Nepal has made
significant progress in the area of higher education, especially in terms of student
enrolment, expansion of institutions and overall investment in the sector. But the
country's institutions of higher learning have produced a flock of incompetent,
politically intoxicated and destructive youths. Unless there is swift and effective
intervention, these institutions would go on producing an incompetent and inferior
"educated" class, adding to the country's already heavy burden. Fifty years ago, when Nepal embarked on the
process of modernization, the situation was pathetic. "Despite minor developments in
education under the Ranas, in 1951 there were only 300 college graduates in all of Nepal,
most of whom graduated from Indian schools," states "Half-a-Century of
Development: The History of US Assistance to Nepal 1951-2001" published by the US
Agency for International Development's Mission to Nepal. The situation is very different now. The
country has five universities with more than 210,000 students. Tribhuvan University (TU)
alone has 200,000 students at three levels - proficiency certificate, bachelors and
masters. The country's oldest and largest institution of higher education altogether has
61 constituent campuses under five technical faculties and four general faculties. The number of TU-affiliated campuses has
reached 191. The constituent campuses have 142,224 students, while 62,000 more are
studying in affiliated institutions. TU estimates there will be 19,094 students in
technical education soon. In fiscal year 2059/60, TU will admit 27,461 students in the
proficiency certificate, 20,220 in the bachelors, and 7,920 in the masters programs. According to the Finance Ministry's
Economic Survey for fiscal 2058/59, Mahendra Sanskrit University has 3,252 students.
Kathmandu University, the only private university in Nepal, has 1,783 students in its
constituent campuses. Purbanchal University, which started its academic programs from
2054-55, admitted 2,840 students, whereas Pokhara University has an enrolment of 2,946. Under Whose Control? The numerical progress in higher education
has brought many bad practices, particularly in the constituent colleges of TU. There is
virtual anarchy in the teaching-learning process, with politicization having struck deep
roots in almost every area. Worse, the perpetrators of such actions consistently try to
prove that they are justified. In the name of unions, a new kind of education Mafia
enjoying political protection is destroying the education system. A large number of students are admitted to
TU simply to encourage them to vote in elections, which are basically held under the
slogans of the country's major political parties. The student elections are often seen as
a barometer of the political parties' popularity. No plan, including admission, structures
of fees and other academic activities, are implemented without prior permission of the
students union. Otherwise, the administration would have to be prepared for stiff
resistance that can often turn violent. On the students' side, the situation is
bleaker. Out of the total enrolment, about 42 percent were found not to have attended
classes after admission in a sample survey of TU and private campuses. The mean teaching
days of the sampled campuses was found to be 2,151, which was less by about three months
than the possible 228 teaching days in one academic year. If the trends in the campuses
under TU are any indication, a bleak future looms in front of the country's higher
education. In most of the constituent campuses, the students union dictates vital policy
matters, including those relating to admissions and examinations. For many students, the unions are their
saviors. Students are admitted to different faculties under the quota of the unions.
Whether there is space or not, the campus administration is forced to oblige the union
leaders. The alternative is to face nasty lockouts that can go on for weeks. The new
students, for their part, are required to offer "donations" to the unions. "I don't think any university
management can increase the monthly fees that easily. Any issue related to fee increases
is politically explosive. So nobody wants to touch it," says Dr. Mohan Lohani, a
former professor at the TU Central English Department. "Unless [financial]
contributions from students and parents increase in the days ahead, it would be impossible
to raise the quality of higher education." The student unions, which always stand
against fee increases, collect funds by running tuition classes, soliciting admission
contributions and other forms of donations. A few months ago, the student union of Padma
Kanya Campus locked the campus doors for a week, demanding the withdrawal of the campus
administration's decision to levy Rs.200 from each student for a construction project. In
the Central Department of Economics at the central campus, the student union did a similar
thing when officials decided to raise an additional Rs.2,000 from incoming students to
improve facilities. There is a commonly held belief in Nepal
that access to free higher education is the right of students. All the country's major
political parties are championing that mantra. Although a large number of TU graduates are
unable to compete in the job market, everyone wants to spend their valuable time in
campuses paying nominal monthly fees. Annually, the government sanctions about
14-15 percent of its total budget outlays to the education sector. Of this, higher
education gets about 20 to 25 percent. A large chunk of the money is spent on salaries of
TU employees. TU proposed a budget of Rs.2.02 billion for fiscal year 2059/60. The
university generated only Rs.270 million and the government came up with the remaining
Rs.1.83 billion. Although new universities and private
colleges have been opened in recent years, the campuses of TU remain the first choice of
students - and are, therefore, over-crowded. The 61 constituent campuses of TU still take
in more than 80 percent of total higher education enrolments; more than half of the
students are in the proficiency certificate level. Although TU planned to phase out the
level by 2006/2007, it is in no position to resist the pressure of student unions, which
want to retain the outmoded education system. The major political parties are firmly
behind the student unions, because that is where they get their cadres. "If the
university were to remove the proficiency certificate level, the problem of politicization
of higher education would largely be solved," says an analyst. As a result of tertiary education reforms
and associated increases in the fees in the early 1990s, internally generated revenue as a
share of university expenditure rose to about 20 percent in 1993 (from only 9 percent in
1985) but has again fallen back to 11-12 percent. Given the fact that the large majority
of tertiary students are from upper income families and that the benefits of tertiary
education accrue primarily to the participating According to Nepal Public Expenditure
Review published by the World Bank in April 2000, the per-unit cost in tertiary education
varies significantly by fields of study, ranging from Rs.1,390 per student in management
and Rs.2,124 in law to Rs.38,700 in agriculture and Rs.46,000 in medicine. In fiscal 1996,
the average cost for all students at the tertiary level was Rs.13,329. However, if the
costs of the four professional institutes (agriculture, engineering, medicine and
veterinary sciences), which enroll just 4.6 percent of tertiary students, were excluded,
the average expenditure per tertiary student was Rs.7,420. Unlike Tribhuvan University, the privately
managed Kathmandu University generates a large amount of its own resources. Although the
situation of Pokhara and Purbanchal Universities resembles that of TU, they also generate
resources from students. Students at TU and Mahendra Sanskrit University end up getting
almost free education under government subsidy. Investment-Quality Link In terms of quality of education, the
products of Kathmandu University are regarded as the best. Students have to pay their own
money to get quality education at KU-affiliated and constituent campuses. A student at the
Kathmandu College of Management, a KU-affiliated college, has to pay Rs.80, 000 annually.
KU also charges about Rs.70, 000 per student for the bachelor's level. "Our education
is neither cheap nor of quality," says Professor Abhi Subedi, who resigned as chief
of TU's English Department after some students vandalized his office last year. Even TU-affiliated campuses charge fees
ranging from Rs.10,000 to Rs.40,000 in humanities and management faculties. Annual fees
for the certificate, bachelor's and master's level at TU-affiliated level are
Rs.500, Rs.600 and Rs.740 respectively. Following the crunch in local resources, some
TU-affiliated campuses started raising small amounts of money at the time of admission.
But the resistance from student unions was so intense that many campus administrations
were compelled to withdraw the decision. "For quality education, there must be
greater contributions from parents and students. How can you provide quality in higher
education without charging fees to sustain it?" asks Bishnu Adhikary, principal of
Kathmandu College of Management. "You can provide quality education in a place where
there is proper infrastructure and academic environment. How can you expect quality
education by cramming more than 200 students into a classroom?" In private colleges and universities, fees
remain a major source of income. In many private colleges, the contribution of fees to
total income was 100 percent. In contrast, the contribution of fees at TU is very nominal.
According to a study by the United Nations Development Program and World Bank-supported
Tertiary Education Project in 1995, the contribution of fees to total income of technical
campuses (five) was two percent but in general campuses (27). In 1993, the operating cost
per student (gross) in medicine, agriculture and forestry was Rs.74, 467, Rs.38,782 and
Rs.28,199 respectively, whereas in management, law, humanities and social sciences, it was
Rs.1,278, Rs.2,124 and Rs.2,869 respectively. Teachers And Politics The role of teachers leaves much to be
desired, as they are also responsible for the politicization of the education system. Like
students, the teachers are openly divided into various political ideologies and back
student unions in keeping with their own leanings. Teachers have hardly paid attention to
the teaching-and-learning process. Instead of concentrating on raising academic quality,
teachers are seen advancing their own agendas. Studies conducted by various groups paint a
dismal scenario. A report prepared under the Tertiary Education in Nepal revealed many bad
practices. During the study of 52 classes, the teachers were found to be regular only in
25. Although the time allotted for one class was an average of 40-45 minutes for
instruction, the actual time was found to be less than eight minutes on an average. More
than 70 percent of the teachers did not stay in their classes for the allotted time for
instructions. It was found that about 60 percent of the teachers were teaching in other
shifts on part-time basis, besides their regular teaching assignments. Despite years of huge investments, the
quality of education is far from satisfactory. TU is preoccupied with the problems of
about 200,000 students and 10,000 teachers and 2,000 peons or lower level employees. In
other words, TU is simply too big to manage. As the student unions work as sister
organizations of the major political parties and hold large memberships, the university
administration often has to compromise with them. Teachers' associations, too, are
basically wings of the major political parties. In this way, few employees of TU are far
from politics. The academic exercise is virtually
non-existent and the student union often hinders the reform process of the university. The
university management has to admit students on the recommendation of the students union.
The problem is that a large number of graduates do not find jobs. "In no country of
the world are students left standing in the classroom for about 100 days. Is this not a
misuse of youth's creativity?" asks Dr. Suresh Raj Sharma, vice-chancellor of
Kathmandu University in his book "Sikshya, Bikash and Chunauti" (Education,
Development and Challenges). The government campuses are overcrowded, as
there is virtually no teaching and learning atmosphere. There are 200-300 students in
compulsory subjects like English and Nepali. "Our campus, which is supposed to teach
3,000 students, is admitting more than 9,000. One cannot expect a proper teaching-learning
environment in the campuses," says Sunil Kumar Poudel, campus chief of Ratna Rajya
Laxmi Campus. "Under pressure from the student union, we are compelled to admit a
large numbers of students. But the TU management has not granted additional funds to run
the classes." Missing Objectives Students, teachers and planners do not have
a clear vision of education. Students, who tenaciously hold on to the view that higher
education is their right, do not have an alternative to joining college. As the monthly
fees are Rs.41 for the proficiency certificate level, Rs.50 for bachelor's and 61.62 for
master's degree, higher education at TU turns out to be much cheaper than the average
public school. So quality education is nobody's concern. Most of the campuses do not have
even adequate books in the library. "Education has become a consumer
item," says Dr. Trailokya Nath Upraity, a former vice-chancellor of TU. "Like
all other things, if you want quality, you must be ready to pay more." TU's Case As TU has expanded into such a big
institution, it is virtually impossible to control and monitor its affairs. With a
teaching staff of more than 5,000 and office employees exceeding 6,000, TU has become a
white elephant, spending Rs.1.83 billion of its Rs.2.4 billion budget on salaries and
provident fund of employees. "This amounts to 78.42 percent of our annual
budget," says Nilkantha Lal Shrestha, registrar of TU. Although they consume such a huge portion
of the budget, most of the teachers and employees consider their work at TU of secondary
importance, focusing greater attention on their part-time engagements in private colleges. "Money cannot buy intellect but you
cannot have a quality without investing a penny in the education sector," says
Professor Dhruba Kumar of TU's Center for Nepal and Asian Studies. "Unless a proper
system is put in place, you cannot improve the quality of education." As there is virtually no proper evaluation
system, all teachers receives equal treatment in the course of promotion. In many cases,
teachers who spend more time in private colleges and who regularly visit ministers and
other politicians are the ones who are promoted. "Is there any university in the world
where a teacher is promoted on a time-bound basis and not on the basis his or her research
and competence? Yes, it is possible in our university. Even a lecturer who was out of the
country for a decade without properly notifying the TU administration was promoted to
professorship within a couple of years," says a TU reader on condition of anonymity. Others, too, lament that promotion in TU is
not based on regular research, teaching capabilities and competence, but mostly on
political inclination. "A well-read scholar who has been working as a leader of an
international non-governmental organization received regular promotion although he did not
teach classes at TU," a lecturer says. "How can you expect the quality of
education to improve when such craftiness gets rewarded?" TU administrators agree with such
objections. "We have to introduce some kind of restrictions on the mobility of
teachers so that they will concentrate more on the academic side of TU," says
Professor Tri Ratna Manandhar, dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
"We need to improve the system of recruitment and promotion of teachers." TU is paying for the liberty it has granted
everyone. As teachers and students unions are not accountable to anyone, their concern is
not to promote the quality of education but to promote the interests of the party they are
allied with. TU's solution TU does not have anything to boast of,
except perhaps being one of the world's most unwieldy institutions of higher education.
The experience of the four technical faculties has shown that quality education is
possible only when teachers and students are present in manageable numbers. Unless TU becomes more judicious in the
process of affiliating campuses and moves swiftly to regularize academic activities,
quality education would remain a distant dream. It must be brought to the shape it was
originally intended to be. "TU must be left for academic exercise, and there must be
another open university for affiliating and other works," says Dr. Upraity. The report of the high-level National
Education Commission 2055 also called for a more precise definition of the role of TU and
a reduction in its present shape and size. But its recommendations are yet to be
implemented. "Liberty without accountability is the
freedom of the fool. Our concept of the freedom will remain an impoverished one, until it
is rounded and deepened by liberal education. Our country will be built not on bricks but
on brains; not on cement but on enlightenment." Palkhivala reminds of the importance
of higher education in the country's democratization process. Since time has not run out, the concerned
officials must consider whether the country wants a liberal education system to build the
nation or education with idiots and political zealots. ‘Even Einstein Would Have Had A
Hard Time Getting Promoted Here’ — TRI RATNA MANANDHAR Professor TRI RATNA
MANANDHAR, dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Tribhuvan University
(TU), is well-known historian. Manandhar, who holds a Ph.D. in history, spoke to KESHAB
POUDEL on various issues relating to higher education in Nepal. Excerpts: As the dean of TU's largest
faculty, how do you see the quality of higher education? We teach a variety of subjects and there is
no specialization. We have 61 constituent campuses and about 200 affiliated private
campuses. We don't have the manpower to monitor the affiliated campuses. Once TU issues
affiliation for a particular campus, no one visits for observation. Nepal has four
universities, including TU. Mahendra Sanskrit University is concentrating on Sanskrit
education; Kathmandu, Purbanchal and Pokhara Universities follow market trends. They pick
up subjects based on market demand. Interestingly, they don't offer courses at all levels.
Purbanchal University offers a masters-degree course in journalism and mass communication,
although it does not run classes in the intermediate and bachelor's levels. Nobody knows
on what basis Purbanchal University is offering masters degree in journalism. The case of
Pokhara University is not too different. It needs all kinds of support of Tribhuvan
University. How can you call them universities when they don't have their own manpower to
organize basics? Pokhara University is currently offering M.Phil. and MA in English to
students with any subject in the bachelor's degree. As far as the problems of TU are
concerned, it is very unmanageable in terms of size. TU teachers are hired by private
universities that offer better pay. Most of the permanent TU teachers pay more attention
to the private university. Would you prefer to restrict the
use of TU's manpower by another university? The reality is that no other university has
its own manpower. Purbanchal and Pokhara Universities are dependent on our people. The
teachers are definitely paid well in private universities. Most of the teachers who
consider their permanent jobs in TU are there just to get their monthly salary. All
universities should develop their own manpower. Teachers must limit themselves to a single
university or college. If teachers were to agree to
confine themselves to one university, would TU be able to provide proper incentives? TU is paying monthly salaries and other
benefits according to its capacity. So teachers should be loyal to their job. We get funds
only to pay the salaries. In humanities, education and management, the budget is
comparatively low. If TU wants to compete, it must be able to offer salaries and
facilities as par with other universities. Wouldn't it be possible for TU to
offer financial incentives to encourage teachers to confine themselves to its campuses? TU can generate resources by trimming down
the number of unnecessary departments. There are a number of departments like Hindi and
Sanskrit where there are no students, but we are compelled to pay salaries to the
teachers. Don't you think the system of
time-bound promotion and loopholes in recruitment and promotion of teachers hamper
quality? Frankly speaking, it was very unfortunate
on the part of the TU administration in the 1990s to have introduced time-bound promotion.
In the uncontrolled political wave of 1990, academic institutions like TU also suffered.
This wave created anarchy in the education system. It is said that promotion in TU is
not always based on research and innovation, but on other factors like seniority. Do you
think there is a need to improve the promotion system? Our Service Commission has formulated a
promotion system in which experience is regarded as a major component. There are also
marks for books, articles and experience. In many cases, teachers have secured the highest
marks based on experience, pushing a scholarly competitor out of the race. Marks are given
for the number of books, not on the quality of research. If you write 15 books, you are
likely to get the highest marks. Don't you think this discourages
competition and impairs academic excellence? Such a system must be corrected. In the
present system, even Einstein would have had a hard time getting promoted to professor.
Although Einstein's theory changed the world, his under-50-page thesis would not qualify
him for promotion. It is said there is lack of
coordination among central departments and research institutes. How do you view this? This is not true. We have four research
departments, all of which have different peripheries. Except for the Center for Nepal and
Asian Studies (CNAS), no research center produces publications supplementary to our
courses. If materials were available, there would be no question of ignoring them. CNAS
alone has more than 150 publications. There are a few teachers who use two-decade-old
notes, but there are also teachers who work hard to prepare their notes. TU has been admitting students far
beyond its capacity. Can't it divert them to other colleges? TU constituent campuses offer education at
nominal cost. In other words, higher education in TU campuses is virtually free of cost.
Free education paves the way for certain bad precedents. In every election year, unions
want to admit students of their own fold to win. As student unions can resort to all kinds
of methods, nobody dare challenge their demands. At a time when TU is in no position
to grant more money to campuses and central departments, haven't you thought of generating
funds from students? Some departments and campuses have imposed
small additional charges, but the student unions have opposed the move. The Economics
Department has decided to raise Rs.2,000 annually from each student in order to enhance
its facilities, but students locked the department. ‘If You Want Quality, You Must
Be Ready To Pay More’ — TROILOKYA NATH UPRAITY Former vice-chancellor of
Tribhuvan University and renowned social worker TROILOKYA NATH UPRAITY has had a long
experience in the promotion of education quality. Upraity spoke to KESHAB POUDEL on the
problems and prospects of higher education in Nepal. Excerpts: Is it possible to have quality
education at low cost? In plain terms, it is not possible, because
education has become a consumer item. Like all other things, if you want quality, you must
be ready to pay more. This is true with education almost all over the world. When I
visited socialist states like the former Soviet Union and China, which stressed free
education for all the people, I saw institutions of different levels. Some offering
high-quality education cost more. We live in a democratic and consumer society where
quality education does not come cheap. TU is providing low-cost education for a large
number of students. At the same time, it provides quality education in engineering,
medicine, agriculture and forestry. The cost of technical education is high. TU offers
low-cost education in social sciences and the humanities. In such faculties, teachers
don't have to teach full time. There are no provisions for strict attendance. When you were vice-chancellor at
TU, higher education was subsidized. Was it of better quality? It has never been made clear whether TU is
a state university or a private university. One of the problems of TU is the tussle
between what we call the concepts of private and state universities. When I was
vice-chancellor, TU was smaller and we got good support from the government. We could
manage things rather well. At that time, the objective was to groom TU as a teaching and
residential university. But as you went along, things drifted gradually to the wrong side.
TU is more interested in the affiliating part and the teaching-learning process is
neglected. The government is providing huge sums in assistance, but TU is unable to define
its role in the context of national development. Donor countries have given some money,
but they were not properly utilized. Were there any flaws during the
formation of TU? Well, that is where, I think, we slipped.
After the political change of 1950, the governments of Nepal and United States ran a joint
education project. I was working as a co-director on behalf of the Nepalese government. We
had taken up the issue of developing a new university in the kingdom. We wanted to develop
the university in a way that would have avoided the mistakes made by universities in
India. India has had a long history of developing universities after 1835. Freedom
fighters like Mahatma Gandhi sought to get rid of colonial-era education. They believed
those university gave the wrong kind of education. Since our university is based on the
concept of Patna University, we wanted to have a new framework of a Land Grant University
of the United States and were working on this project. Suddenly, there was an announcement
from the Royal Palace on establishing the university in the name of late King Tribhuvan.
Because of various reasons, the task of developing the university taken by the Indian Aid
Mission. They came forward to provide assistance to the Tribhuvan University Development
Commission. Why did the authorities accept
Patna University as the model? They took a very easy approach, because
colleges were affiliated to Patna University at the time. Tri-Chandra College was
affiliated to Patna University and the commission decided to copy Patna University's
regulations and framework. At that time, Patna University did both teaching and
affiliating. That was where we made the first mistake. King Mahendra, as chancellor of the
university, held consultations with foreign scholars. They advised the king that the
university in Nepal should not go for both teaching and affiliating at the same time. It
should be developed as a teaching and residential university. The decision to copy the
concept of Patna University was the basic mistake. All our difficulties today have grown
as the result of that decision. What can we do to improve the
status of higher education? Much water has flown under the Bagmati
Bridge. There are so many new universities like Kathmandu, Pokhara and Purbanchal
Universities. We have seen that if the right kind of leadership comes forward, they can
create a better institution like Kathmandu University. As far as TU is concerned, it is
the first university in learning. In technical fields like engineering and medicine, TU is
offering high-quality education. In order to improve the quality of education, we should
amend the TU Act to allow the university to develop as a place of excellence for teaching
in technical field as well as humanities and social science. The affiliating part should
be left to the open university. How can the new TU vice-chancellor
change things? Bringing in a new person alone is not going
to change the university, because the vice-chancellor is not really running TU. You may
call it a bad word, but TU is under a mafia-style grip of students and people working in
different departments. In some cases, even the professors are responsible, as they don't
teach full time. They take the university salary as special privilege and are committed to
institutions outside the university to earn more. The students do not pay minimum fees as
they control the admission, examinations and other day-to-day activities. Interestingly,
many students who spend money on private tuition oppose moves to increase fees to raise
quality. Is quality education a distant
prospect, then? While talking about TU, I am reminded of
one incident. In early days, when a group of people visited India, we had the opportunity
to meet Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In his usual way, Nehru asked what Nepal
was doing in education. Our colleagues spoke of building new blocks and infrastructure.
Pandit Nehru said a good university needed good teachers and a good environment for
teaching, not just bricks and mortar. What Nehru said is still true. People here have to
realize that building big structures alone will not improve the quality of education. |
Send your feedback to the
editor: spotligh@mos.com.np |
