A condition for quality higher education

Looking at the practices of quality measurement or comparing the higher education of Nepal with these practices, there are many (un)knowledge and insights that we will gain. However, there is one issue that is not seen in the discussion or is not well discussed - the policy and practical aspects of how to improve the quality of our higher education.

A university is a place to develop knowledge, outlook and consciousness and build a holistically conscious citizen. In this article, it has been discussed that by professionalizing the teaching and teaching profession, making the activities of teaching and writing more competitive and qualified can be the starting point of the journey to ensure the academic quality of the university as a whole. For this, teaching should be made a lucrative profession. The policy of making teaching attractive can be viewed in two ways—financial and academic.

Attractive teaching

Since universities are centers of knowledge, the topics that are produced, discussed, researched and developed here play a role in the overall epochal change of the country. Therefore, the university should attract the best minds, not mediocrity or human resources motivated by political and other partisan and partisan interests, to maintain the quality and standard of knowledge, approaches and research produced here. To attract the best human resources, there can be no alternative to making teaching lucrative. By making the teaching profession lucrative, the employed human resources can be assured of financial and academic advancement.

The main objective of higher education is to produce human resource with broad mindedness. A self-motivated, committed and dedicated workforce is essential to produce this mindset. The students of the university are planners, thinkers, problem solvers, leaders and bearers of overall change in the future of the country in various geographies, bodies, mechanisms, structures and levels. The whole university's 'ecosystem' and teaching system are responsible for building and acquiring the passion and effort of such students. For this, colleges and universities should provide many opportunities for students to explore diverse fields. Also they should be guided and trained by strong human resources and reliable educational system and mechanism. While teaching is attractive, it is also a competitive profession. Competitive recruitment of human resources creates a quality workforce, which in the long run also determines the quality of teaching activities.

Likewise, professors can help guide the country's economic, social, cultural, and practical conditions as experts, but the teaching profession cannot be used as a political practice. Teaching profession is generally a very prestigious profession in the world. However, in our educational perspective, the repulsion towards the profession has increased when the mud that stinks of political participation has spread to the teaching profession. As a result, young people who want to enter this sector are very discouraged.

The economics of teaching

This time is post-capitalist. The teaching profession cannot be understood in isolation from its social and cultural background. Our society has become consumerist, and almost no one is immune to it. Current inflation is high enough to cause economic insecurity. Therefore, no educational institution can dream of academic advancement by adopting the ancient saying that teaching or teaching is service. Therefore, the first effort of universities is to make teaching as financially attractive as other professional professions. Also, the educational institution itself should be financially strong. Another topic of discussion is how it can be done economically and financially.

Our university should be financially secure and ensure that the lives of professors and other staff are compatible with the changing economic needs of modern society. Financial empowerment of those working in teaching and educational administration not only fulfills the basic needs of their lives but also gives them more motivation for personal and professional growth and development. Only after ensuring the financial needs of these important stakeholders of the university can they be encouraged to be more creative, creative and professional in their work and responsibilities.

The salary given to full-time teachers and professors by our university is minimal and the service facilities they get are not in accordance with the basic needs of the modern age. Lacking financial security, professors and assistant professors who have to move from one college to another miss out on much-needed opportunities to impart content, such as student-teacher interaction.

In some cases, professors have an interest in their academic development but have to postpone that interest due to financial constraints. Provisions in the university for professional development activities including the necessary conditions for building an academic environment such as: participation in seminars and thematic workshops, publication of articles in indexed journals and publication of quality books are limited. The financial resources required for programs and opportunities for academic advancement and professional development provided by institutions, faculties and the University Grants Commission are limited. Such programs do not meet the needs of many professors. For this, the executive bodies of the university must come up with scientific and carefully formulated and guided plans, policies and procedures and guidelines. Whatever has happened, it can be considered as a positive effort for the change of higher education. However, they are not enough to meet the actual shortage.

Professional and Academic Development

Not everyone who joins the university teaching profession seeks financial advancement alone. Only in this sense can the profession of teaching be given the status of a service group. They also embrace the teaching profession for personal and professional growth and development. Academic development in a narrower sense is the opportunity for the sender to confidently 'read' and engage in educational and academic activities. And, what many researches show is that if the teacher gets to read and develop their academic and academic skills, it has a positive effect on the students.

Our universities lack the facilities, provisions and opportunities that students and professors need for their professional growth and development. Also, in some cases, examples of such wasted opportunities are not published on occasion. Some of the reasons for the latter trend may be- lack of ability and strength in the individual to make use of such opportunities, the process not being complicated, not getting the support of educational administrative and subject experts needed to make use of the opportunity, lack of necessary motivation and re-empowerment while making use of the opportunity, etc.

However, the professional support of professors is a key pillar of Nepal's current educational policy. By decentralizing higher education through legal and scientific means, more professional development programs and activities can be promoted through educational and educational administrative leadership. But what, how much and to what extent have our universities provided such professional support? What number of professors have benefited in terms of receiving professional support? Is there a quality return in operation or not? Overall, there are instances where teachers rarely receive professional support. But the professional training and educational activities done by some universities from the ground level are commendable.

Professional development opportunities are essential to maintain a balance between academic responsibilities and research activities in higher education. (Associate)Professors' professional development includes formal and structural support such as seminars, workshops and long-term training programs. In most university faculties, faculty involvement in professional development activities is voluntary. Apart from being promoted or self-motivated to engage in such activities, the tasks of academic and professional activities that should be carried out for the purpose of holding a responsible position are not carried out. Nor have there been policies that make involvement in such activities mandatory. Sometimes activities organized by various professional organizations of professors for false interests cannot be considered dignified academic work. Such programs should come through the University Academic Action Plan. Minimum time allocation for teaching and innovative work should be strictly adhered to.

Currently, the most embraced method for professional growth and development is to pursue MPhil and PhD degrees. However, it cannot be considered as the only standard of quality. Validation of such degrees should also determine the level and quality. The practice of using these degrees only for promotion to teaching ignores the interrelationship between teaching learning and competence. In the same way, the university should establish a method to measure the quality of teachers by making pre-service training and experience necessary during the initial appointment of teachers. In addition, those who have entered the teaching service should also be given regular opportunities to update their subject knowledge and the methods and systems necessary to impart that knowledge in accordance with the changing educational environment.

Teachers are also the main actors for their professional development. Professional development is the foundation of quality education. Academic and professional growth and development of professors positively affects students and such growth and development should be reflected in their learning achievement. Some teachers can achieve professionalism through self-efforts such as research and innovation along with their career skills. But such individual-level activities can only marginally influence the entire 'ecosystem' of the university. Even if the step is positive, its impact will take a long time to yield tangible returns.

at the end

Even though Nepal's universities work in coordination with the Ministry of Education and the University Research Commission, they are largely autonomous in terms of financial resources, human resources and administrative operations and management. For example, the executive council of the university has the right to change the structure of the educational program after meeting certain conditions, to conduct staff development activities, to formulate admission and educational quality standards, to set salaries and tuition fees, and to systematize the work of examinations and certifications. However, it is frequently questioned that the quality of university education is not up to date.

teaching is a big part of the whole university 'ecosystem'. It is not possible to improve the quality of higher education without qualitative and competitive development of the entire teaching sector. Therefore, it is important for stakeholders to pay attention to this matter. If some of our policies related to higher education have become a barrier to quality, then those policies should be revised and made to bring a fundamental difference in building the quality of higher education. Improvements in its quality and standards affect overall higher education returns. Also, the cry that our students have gone abroad can be reduced to some extent.

– GC is an assistant professor of English.