Prakash Rana
Deurali Janta Prabidhik Shikshalaya, established in 2064 BS, is one of the leading technical schools in Province 5 that offers PCL Staff Nurse, JTA-Agriculture and Veterinary JTA programs in association with CTEVT.
Prakash Rana is the chairperson at Deurali Janata Prabidhik Shikshyalaya and president at Forum for Health & Technical School in Province 5. He shared his view with College Readers regarding the importance of technical education and its growing attraction amid SEE graduates. Excerpts:
Could you highlight the distinct features of Deurali Janta Prabidhik Shikshyala?
Deurali Janta Technical School provides a range of courses incorporating global standards of technical education. Therefore, it has been preparing qualified human resources in technical field that could be both job holders and job creators. The school is situated in a prime location of Butwal. The teachers are qualified, dedicated and highly experienced. In addition, the school possesses appealing physical infrastructures with spacious and well-furnished classrooms and well equipped laboratories.
How is the performance of the graduates of Deurali Janta Technical School in the global market?
Indeed, this institution has been producing qualified technical human resources that are easily employed in the country and beyond. Around 90% of JT and JTA are involved in the global job market and the rest are self-employed. Similarly, our nursing graduates have also embraced appealing job opportunities in health sector. Therefore, the performance of our graduates is outstanding in job landing sector as well as in their higher studies.
Butwal is considered to be a hub of advanced education in the western Nepal. How is the condition of private educational institutions in this region?
The government-funded educational institutions are not imparting quality education. This could be true the government has not invested the required amount of money for academic improvement. On the contrary, private educational institutions have fulfilled the demand of local people at an affordable fee structure. In fact, it’s so strange that the private sector is doing the task which should be done by the government.
In your experience, what should CTEVT do for further improvement in nursing education in Nepal?
The government should make appropriate plans and frameworks acknowledging the current need of human resources related to nursing field in the country. The CTEVT too should produce a considerable number of nurses required for the country. The government of province three has adopted the policy of employing one nurse in every school. Similarly, there is demand of nurses in all local levels across the country. So, the CTEVT should make survey on the number of nurses required to run all health sectors smoothly.
In your opinion, what improvement should be made by each technical institution in Nepal?
Most technical colleges established by the private sector have made breakthroughs in quality enhancement. And the management system of private sector is really praiseworthy. However, there are some problems drooping over some institutions because of lack of sufficient funds. In order to strengthen educational efficiency of government funded schools, they should improve physical infrastructure and recruit qualified teachers with lucrative salaries and incentives.
It is widely rumored that private educational institutions are earning a huge profit in the educational sector. What is your opinion regarding this matter?
The government has made the provision of registering all the organization under Company Act. Naturally, a company is established with a profit motive. Nepal is a member of WTO, and it is a compulsion for Nepal to compete with other countries in trade and businesses. If it cannot compete in trade, it has to disappear from the global market. Similarly, if a company cannot compete with its contemporaries, it cannot even exist in the society. In addition, since all our institutions have been established under the Company Act, it is natural for them to look for profit. Talking frankly, a private company should compete in the market with quality-based education. Therefore, if we fail to deliver quality service to our students, we will surely be replaced with emerging institutions.
Could you share with us your further plans for improving the standard of your institution?
We are planning to enhance quality rather than increasing quantity. As health sector is a sensitive area, producing qualified and skilled human resources is our duty because such human resources are responsible for protecting the lives of people. If we do not produce qualified human resources in the health sector, the lives of people will be in danger. So, our further plans are related to helping students experience quality education rather than increasing the quantity of the students.
