DR KESHAV KUMAR SHRESTHA
Executive Director
Curriculum Development Centre (CDC), TU
Why do Nepali colleges need affiliations with foreign universities?
Nepali colleges have joined the trend of getting affiliated to foreign universities lately. The foreign courses taught by these colleges have helped the Nepali students in broadening their knowledge and getting, perhaps, more practical education. Today, the world has become a global village; everything is globalised, including education. Colleges in one country get affiliated with foreign universities in order to teach foreign courses. This trend has helped the Nepali students in more than one way.
Why doesn’t the CDC develop such courses on its own?
Tribhuvan University has its own way and process of developing curricula. CDC develops courses on the basis of their need. For example, if there is a four-year course, we discuss its merits and demerits in depth. With the teamwork of ‘subject committees’, CDC not only develops curricula but also conducts seminars, orientation programmes and workshops to help the teaching and learning of foreign courses in the country. We are also careful about updating and even revising the TU courses from time to time. There is an Academic Council at TU that oversees the course developing process. Such courses should also meet national and international market interests. I think TU needs to implement the credit hours requirement system for its courses too.
Are the foreign courses beneficial for the Nepali students in the long run?
There are professional as well as academic benefits for the Nepali students from the foreign courses. These courses also ensure better career opportunities and future for the students.
What are the possibilities of developing Nepal into an educational hub?
This is a broad topic to discuss. First, we need the basic infrastructure to develop Nepal as an education hub. The academic calendar should be updated and other new changes should be introduced. Recent activities like padlocking and protests happening at TU are a huge setback to such a m mission. Before Nepal can be developed into an international education hub, we should be able to manage the resources within the Nepali universities well. And, I repeat, timely changes in the curricula are a must.
How is CDC supporting the students’ educational freedom to take courses of their choice?
We definitely pay attention to the interests of the students by keeping ourselves abreast with the market demand. The basic thing here is to enhance the quality of education. The students are given utmost freedom to choose from the available courses. TU has eight-semester BBA and four-semester MBA courses. Along with the freedom, the students should not forget the competition in the market and the credibility of the available courses.
What changes in TU courses is CDC bringing in the coming days?
A change may not always mean an immediate broad adjustment. We change existing courses or introduce new ones by analyzing the needs and demands in the market. For example, we have paid much attention to developing and bringing new courses in of Information Technology, Hotel Management, BBA and others. There is a demand for these courses as they are more likely to give the students a secured career.
There is a common complaint that the annual system hasn’t work well in the education sector. What is CDC doing to address this complaint?
The annual system focuses on mass education. However, it needs to be changed according to time. Recently, we have developed a new course, Tea Technology and Management (BSC Tea Technology), at Mechi Multiple Campus, Jhapa.
Are the foreign courses more practical and skill-oriented?
The most important thing is that these courses have a good reputation in the market. However, it is also true that only a few percent of fresh graduates get good jobs in the market. So, it’s high time to ensure the production of quality and competitive manpower by domestic as well as foreign-affiliated colleges.
