Reform Strategies for Quality of Engineering Higher Education in Nepal

Abstract

Recent literatures on engineering education have described the need of reform in engineering higher education in Nepal and this has become an essential agenda for the development of the country. In order to identify the policy options and programs for reform in engineering higher education in Nepal, it was essential to examine; the existing level of competency of graduating engineers, the existing pertinent issues influencing quality of engineering education and also to explore the strategies to resolve those pertinent issues. Sufficient emphasis was found in the literatures that much of the world economy, now and in the days to come, rests on the technology and its application in the society. This, eventually, connotes the inevitability of enhanced knowledge and skills of the engineers. The purpose of this study was to explore and analyze the current issues associated with the quality of engineering higher education and recommending the future strategies for reforming engineering higher education in Nepal. For this, survey instruments were developed that consisted three parts; professional competency, issues and strategies. The pilot test was undertaken and it was validated by a panel of experts. The survey instruments were distributed in August 2007 to stratified sample and data collection continued till the end of February, 2008. The findings revealed the main parameters representing competencies requirements for entry level engineering professional practice and they were grouped into four categories: basic knowledge and skill; specific professional capacity; iii understanding society and social phenomena and; management and leadership. It was found that the graduating engineers have satisfactory level of competencies, however, requires further improvements to cope with the complexities emerging in the engineering practice. The findings also explored the pertinent issues influencing the quality of engineering higher education and were grouped into nine categories, namely; financing, faculties and their role, equity and access, management and institutional barriers, students and their activities, socio-cultural imperatives, infrastructures, curriculum and assessment system and, job market. Additional issues, such as; politicization, absence of research and development and, inconsistency in policy issues were generated from the open ended responses. The study also identified reform strategies to resolve emerged issues so as to achieve quality in the engineering higher education. Prominent strategies explored from the study were: concrete planning for human resources (faculties and staffs) development and appropriate investment for technology along with the tangible plan for generation of fund, policies and programs for the access of capable and competent students and for encouragement in the academic and professional skills, periodic review and updating of curriculum based on market needs and prevailing technology, visionary leadership in academic institutions and accountability and transparency in management along with the understanding of society and de-politicization in the institution, encouragement of experimental learning opportunities (on-the-job learning) etc.