Q) As a planner, what are the areas you have considered for bringing education to a large number of students in our Country?
We have two parts General education and technical education. 86% of our students are part of general education. Remaining 14% are in technical education. In Developed nations around 50% are involved in technical learning. Technical education helps to provide employment and we are lacking in this area. Our focus is on expanding the technical education. Youths when they graduate can generate self-employment. Technical education helps to create the jobs. We are bring it to our affiliated colleges and this will make a golden path for many students when they develop skills of creating self-employment instead of seeking jobs in different organizations.
Q) What do you expect from the students and what have you found so far?
We are not preparing our students for only competing within Nepal. Our world is a global village so; we are also in international competition. Our expectations are when they graduate they should be able to work nationally and internationally also. They should be fluent in the field of Information technology and innovative curriculum. Students are more focused on theoretical learning but practical exposure is as important as theory knowledge so I encourage participating in field and gaining first-hand experience which they will find different than what they had perceived. I encourage that kind of learning.
Q) For students’ motivation what should be the teaching method to help them understand the value of success and failures in life? In what ways teachers can facilitate to help them develop their skills for being successful in their chosen path?
Learning must be interactive. We have moved from chalk and blackboard education to modern technology based learning discipline. It saves time for us and encourages more interaction. We have provided funds for installing smart board. So this kind of teaching gives more interaction with the students. We give them few examples of success stories and encourage them to adopt the right path. If we are able to link education with the real world scenario then their interest in the study soars up. We are also involved with research in the teaching profession. But we were short of funds during allocation. So this year we have made the Research Endowment Fund, we are thinking of increasing the size of the fund. This is for the integrated research teaching. Experience enriches the learning for students.
Q) Why do teachers need to understand students’ learning pattern and their thoughts so that teaching and learning become less deliberate and more interesting?
Understanding the interest of the student is very important for the teachers. Forced learning is not effective at all. By exploring their interest and ideas we can reach to some conclusion. So we introduced the semester system of learning. But we should have introduced at first in lower level and moved to higher education. We did the reverse. In semester system students will be limited so you have the opportunity to interact with them. Lot of teaching methods and wider evaluation brings a lecturer close to the students. Teachers have more responsibilities but it was necessary on our part to highlight this form of learning.
Q) Students are aware that they need to give their best during their College Life, What impression should they make to show they are valuable for the society and nation?
Evaluation system is wrong in Nepal. Normally if a student scores a high mark he is considered very intelligent and a quiet person may not be seen as intelligent because he is not very vocal. We need to understand student’s perspective. First impression may not be the last, adaptability to learning environment is the important thing. There must be no agitations on their part. It would be good if they show impression by being a good example to others so that they will be always remembered for their values. This will also help us and our department. Their exposure to real life working environment would be helpful for faculty to create a learning environment. He will be cited as a good example. That kind of impression makes the mark.
Q) Your advice for those aspiring students who want to make the best of their academic life? How can they have tread into the golden path?
Reading culture has changed and increased drastically from the text book based learning. Saying something and doing nothing is our culture. You are competing on global level with large number of people. We must walk the talk. Students must be practical and combine their knowledge with real life situations.
Prof. Dr. Ridish K. Pokharel
Executive Director,
Office of the Planning Directorate, Tribhuvan University
P.O.Box 12473 Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone: (977-1) 4330437, 4330421 Fax: (977-1) 4331964
Email: planning@tribhuvan-university.edu.np
« Previous Article
What is in Our Mind? How Are We Using This Resource Center?
Using the resource of mind
» Next Article
Nail the Right Impression as a College Student
What does it mean to be a good student? Read our article on Nail the Right Impression as a College Student to find out more