One post-graduate course by KUSOED is training students today to be leaders in education tomorrow.

--BY KRISHANA PRASAIN

The education sector has become a lucrative avenue for investment in recent years as the number of educational institutions is on the rise yearly. Nonetheless, it is also equally important to run such institutions more effectively and efficiently providing quality education to the students.  With the changes in time, teaching practices have also been changing rapidly. So, to address this need, Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED) has introduced a new course - Master in Education (M.Ed) in Leadership and Management that teaches graduates about thoughtful and strategic leadership in educational institutions. “The course is very useful for those seeking a career in the education sector and are willing to actively lead the institutions,” says Professor Mahesh Nath Parajuli, Dean of KUSOED.

“People working in management are likely only to gain the managerial skills while, the students with M.Ed in Leadership and Management degree can rightly apply their skills and knowledge for the productivity, efficiency, effectiveness in the education sector,” mentions Dhanapati  Subedi, Assistant Professor at KUSOED.    

KUSOED introduced the course for the first time in Nepal in 2006 as an M.Ed in Educational Management and revised the same programme into an M.Ed in Leadership and Management in 2014. The course was introduced at the Ph.D level for the first time in 1998 and was later shipped to the Masters level. The university also has a programme for students willing to pursue an M.Phil and Ph.D in Education Leadership.  The course is accredited internationally and till now no other Nepali university other than KU is offering the same kind of programme.  

“We conceptualised the course observing the growing number of educational institutes in the country,” shares Subedi, adding, “We introduced the course seeing its usefulness and the kind of practical approaches it offers.” 

KUSOED was earlier running an M.Ed in Educational Management. However, KU revamped the course as it decided that just teaching the management aspect would not be sufficient for the overall development of the educational institutions. “We introduced the new course in a very creative and innovative way to produce the human resources able to demonstrate leadership quality and bring tangible changes in educational institutions,” mentions subedi.

KUSOED enrolls a total of 35 students in one intake where 15 students are selected for distance learning. “As soon as our classes are ready which were damaged by last year’s earthquake, we will be enrolling students for online and face-to-face classes,” says KUSOED Assistant Professor Subedi. 

About the Course
The M.Ed in Leadership and Management is a two-year programme which is divided into four semesters. The course covers a total of 60 credit hours with 15 credit hours in each semester. The first semester covers the theoretical aspects. There are two core courses of six credit hours, 13 specialisation courses of 39 credit hours, two elective courses of six credit hours and two to three practical courses of nine credit hours.

The core course includes Theory and Practice in Education and Research and Methodology. While the specialisations include Perspective in Education Management and Leadership, Trends in Educational Management and Leadership, Statistical Analysis for School Leaders, Educational Policy and Planning, Strategic Planning in Education, ICT in School Management and Leadership, Development and Management of Resources, School Community Partnership, Financing School Education, Organization Theories and Behavior, Instructional Leadership, Program Evaluation and Program Development in School. Likewise, the elective courses of which students can choose any two includes Teacher Development, School Culture, School Governance, Teacher Policy and Integrity in Education Management and Leadership. Similarly, the practical courses include an internship and dissertation or Research Project I and II.  

KUSOED conducts mid-semester exams during each semester to prepare students for the board exams. Meanwhile, the university is graduating the first batch in M.Ed Leadership and Management this year.

About the One-year M.Ed in Leadership and Management
KUSOED is also offering a one-year M.Ed in Leadership and Management. Anyone with a Master’s degree or with 17 years of academic experience can take the one-year course. The students can take online classes as well as face-to-face class. “The students who take online courses are taught through the ‘Moodle’ software. An alert is sent to online students in their smartphones for class updates,” informs Subedi.   

Scope
The programme offers a wide range of scope in related fields. “Those with an M.Ed in Leadership and Management degree can be principals, leaders, managers and directors of public and private schools. In the NGO/INGO sector, they can become leaders and managers to look after educational components,” says Professor Subedi. Similarly, the graduates can be writers in leadership and management, policy advocates or can own their own educational enterprises. According to him, they also can work for over 120 community related possible activities. “Not only these, they can be useful trainers by providing training to teachers of different schools.” 

“Our students who went to leadership camps in different educational institutions, NGOs and INGOs were in high demand by the respective organisations,” shares Subedi. “Out of the total students enrolled last year, all 11 students who have concluded their leadership camps were offered attractive job positions by schools such as Little Angels, Rato Bangla, Early Childhood Learning Education Center, St. Xavier’s, Nobel Academy, Kathmandu Valley and Nami College.”

Admissions Criteria
Bachelor graduates from any faculty obtaining a 2.5 CGPA from any university and a second division pass from Tribhuvan University are eligible for the course. KUSOED takes entrance exams which is a subjective-oriented test.“The questions are different for the examinees. The reason behind it is that everyone comes from different fields with different experiences and perspectives,” he says. 

“For the next intake, the entrance exam will be held on July 2017 and classes will commence from August the same year,” he informs.

Fee Structure
The overall cost of the two-year course stands at Rs 135,000. 

Class Hours
KUSOED located at Hattiban, Lalitpur is running classes from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm on a daily basis. 

Scholarships
KUSOED is providing scholarships for five deserving students in the programme from the grant commission of the university. The scholarships cover the tuition fees of the students.

Placement
The university is also providing job placements as well. “We are in discussion with the National Center for Educational Development (NCED) for a tie-up. Similarly, we maintain good links with the private educational institutions inside the Kathmandu Valley,” says Subedi.