SEMINAR ON NEW VISION OF MANAGEMENT HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEPAL
2019-04-29
Shanker Dev Campus Student Alumni, established in 2018 to contribute to promoting quality education in management, organized a first of the series of seminars on a New Vision of Management Higher Education in Nepal on 23 March 2019 at Hotel Yak and Yeti. The seminar was held in the changed context of federalized Nepal and increasing popularity of Management in higher education. 40% of higher education students go to Management stream in Nepal. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nepal envisions the shape and structure of higher education in Federal Power and State Power.
The seminar was broadly divided into two sessions – the opening session and the discussion sessions. The opening session of the seminar underlined the need for quality education and establishing more universities to achieve accessibility and equity in higher education. Amongst others, Former Prime Minister and President of Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba and Former Deputy Prime Minister and Vice President of Nepali Congress Bimalendra Nidhi addressed the opening session.
The discussion sessions of the seminar emphasized on establishing specialized management universities in Nepal to impart quality education. Educationists, bureaucrats, management scholars and professionals took stock of the situation for opening a specialized Management University. They expressed their views on provisions of Nepal’s Constitution of 2015 in respect of higher education, types of scholarly entities like the university, major goals of universities and colleges irrespective of whether they are central and state universities, dimensions of qualitative higher education that are necessary as per the provision of Nepal’s Constitution of 2015. They also outlined the vision of a potential Management University.
The sessions emphasized that higher education is fundamental right of every Nepali and the constitution does not restrict the opening of universities or independent institutes/centers/academies of knowledge. But this calls for a systematic working – drawing up guiding principles, policies, acts and regulations so that good governance is instilled from the very start of the university. Once these are in place, there would not be any problem arranging financial resources or additional land. However, a small human pool of scholars in Management could pose a challenge, speakers opined.
The session also underscored the need for looking into the past products of the university – happy with mediocrity and the culture of make-do.
Scholars also remarked that Nepali universities do not spend much time and resources in research. It is high time the upcoming ones focus on creation of new knowledge.
Campus Chief of Shanker Dev Campus Associate Professor Krishna Prasad Acharya presented the history and present situation of Shanker Dev Campus and expressed the view that Shanker Dev Campus is poised for developing the campus into a management university. Shanker Dev Campus Student Alumni President, Professor Amuda Shrestha observed that the student alumni support the idea of developing Shanker Dev Campus into a University of Management. Shanker Dev Campus has been imparting management education for the last six decades, even before the establishment of Tribhuvan University. Shanker Dev Campus is a constituent campus of Tribhuvan University.