DR TULASI THAPALIYA 

Under Secretary 

Ministry of Education

 

How did the trend of establishing colleges with international affiliations begin in Nepal? 

Globalization of education compelled many countries to run academic programmes which are popular internationally. The charm of studying foreign courses in one’s own country and getting a certificate recognized globally at the end is high in any country. It looks so normal today that it has become something of a trend. Nepal, too, could not remain unaffected from this charm as more and more colleges in Asia started introducing international courses through affiliations with foreign colleges/universities. Nepal took its cue from this international trend. 

 

What has been the contribution of these foreign affiliated colleges? Has the Ministry made any evaluation? 

The Ministry is yet to carry out any evaluation of that sort. However, there are some good aspects that these colleges have brought about. For example, the students in Nepal have exposure to international curricula. They don’t need to go abroad for the foreign courses which are already available in Nepal, thanks to these foreign-affiliated colleges. Another advantage is that they get choices in the curriculum. And the most important thing is that the institutions providing higher education in Nepal can learn from the experiences of these foreign-affiliated colleges. 

 

How does the MoE monitor the foreign-affiliated colleges? 

We have a monitoring mechanism. There is a committee at the MOE to monitor these institutions. We are planning to intensify the monitoring process this year. The monitoring process will be more regular in the days to come. 

 

What are the criteria for permitting colleges to get foreign affiliations? 

Colleges in Nepal are running international courses because of the market demand. If there were no students demanding these courses, then these institutions would not come to us to get these courses approved by the ministry. The MoE gives the approval for these courses but this approval is subject to consent from the University Grant Commission. 

 

There are a number of criteria for getting foreign affiliations for Colleges. The process begins with the institutions wishing to run the academic programmes of international universities applying to the MoE. Their applications must include the consent of the University Grant Commission and other professional bodies. Then we observe the overall status of the applying colleges. We have a scrutiny mechanism to see whether the college is really in a position to offer the intended courses or not. We look at their physical facilities, infrastructure, human resource, credibility and validity of the international institutions offering affiliations. 

 

Sometimes, the foreign institutions offering affiliations to Nepali institutions may not have much credibility back in their own countries. We also consider the demand of the said courses in Nepal. Particularly, we encourage those courses that are not offered by the Nepali universities. These are some of the conditions and criteria that we follow. There is a guideline already approved by the cabinet that the criteria in detail. 

 

There are a range of subjects from management and hospitality to information technology to culinary arts. But many of the foreign-affiliated colleges are running BBA or MBA classes. Why? 

It is not about the BBA or MBA classes; it is about the demand of the students. However, there are two different ways of regulating and managing educational programmes. One, you could run trial courses to see what courses are in demand. The other option is the colleges come forward with proposals seeking approval for the courses they want to teach. The main idea is the demand for the subject by the students. If the demand rises, these subjects could be offered by many colleges. Yesterday only, I got a proposal for running micro-biology classes by one of the colleges. Many colleges are planning to run different management courses. 

 

It is often complained that foreign affiliations are hampering the higher education system in Nepal. What do you have to say? 

There are two sides to this complaint. One is because of the rise in the number of foreign affiliated colleges, many students are choosing them instead of colleges that teach courses of Nepali universities. This could be affecting the education system of Nepal. 

 

The other side is a positive one. The existing colleges and universities in Nepal get the chance to learn from the foreign-affiliated colleges and their new courses. Foreign-affiliated colleges can create an environment of completion where the colleges teaching courses of Nepali varsities, too, can become innovative in their courses and/ or curricula. Of course, there is a need to regulate these institutions properly to prevent unfair competition. 

 

It is said that the trend to go abroad for studies among Nepali students would have been low had there been foreign-affiliated colleges in Nepal in the past, say as back as a decade or so? What do you think? 

It could have, perhaps, but I am not sure. It’s not only for the reason of education that the Nepali students go for abroad studies; there are other reasons as well. For example, they go abroad to earn while they learn. They might even want to learn beyond the courses they are enrolled to. Students even go to different countries to learn the same courses; they pick the country of their choice. International exposure and other opportunities are other important factors behind the current trend of going for abroad studies. 

 

So, the presence of foreign-affiliated colleges in Nepal may not lower the abroad study graph very drastically. It could, however, contribute to some extent in lowering the number of students going abroad for studies. But it cannot completely stop the trend.