Engineering education enriches graduates with high career prospects

0
9

Dhana Prasad Poudel, with MSc physics and B. Ed mathematics, has served in TU for more than 27 years as an associate professor. During this period, he had been fulfilling his responsibility as hostel warden, department head of assistant campus chief and acting campus chief at Thapathali Engineering College. He has been working as Chief Executive Officer of National College of Engineering for the last three years. Excerpts:

Based on your decade-long experience, could you please tell us how is the present situation of engineering education of Nepal?

While analyzing the data of +2 science enrolments of the last 8- 9 years, we haven’t found any obvious growth. Out of the total enrollees, the number of the students of Physics group seems decreasing in comparison to Bio group, which shows that the required number of the engineering intake is ever decreasing. Due to the reasons, intake seats of TU, Purbanchal and Pokhara Universities are not being able to enroll the students with full capacity of the intake except in some programs.

Since the Covid 19 pandemic has affected most sectors of the nation, how are the effects of the pandemic on engineering education?

The Covid-19 pandemic brought about a hard blow in the entire education sector, and the engineering education sector had been worse. Many movements occurred in engineering education during the pandemic demanding discount in fees and other facilities. Due to these reasons, we were compelled to offer a discount of 10% in fee structure, but the government did not provide us any subsidies as compensation. At first, the government had agreed to give us refinancing facility but finally it denied of doing so. Private colleges, on one hand, were compelled to give all the students a discount of 10% in fees, but we had to pay 100% salary to the teachers. This was the major cause for private engineering colleges to face economic depression. In this regard, the government should be positive enough to solve the problems of private engineering colleges and boost our morale to contribute to the nation by developing skilled and highly qualified human resources. Private engineering colleges have been struggling for their sustainability which have been struck hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.

National College of Engineering is a top-notch engineering college in Nepal. To what extent do you think that the objective of the college establishment has been fulfilled?

National College of Engineering was established in 2058 B.S. with an objective of imparting quality education in engineering, science and technology disciplines. At first, the condition of the college was miserable. Consequently, in 2065 B.S, the college was taken over by a new team which added Civil Engineering and Electrical Engineering programs immediately. During the 13-year journey under our management, the college gained remarkable height in both physical infrastructure and academic programs including intake capacity. Now, the college has ensconced itself to be an excellent learning center. At present, the college offers an array of courses in civil engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, and electronics, communication & information engineering in bachelor’s level. Our mission is to widen the choices of various programs and prepare skilled human resources for global economy. However, due to various unavoidable and unprecedented circumstances, we are not able to accomplish our target to a greater extent. Still, we are striving for your mission to develop adroit human resources to fulfill the demands of the nation and beyond.

National College of Engineering offers TU engineering programs which other colleges offer too. Why should students pursue these courses in your institution?

National College of Engineering is run by a team of prominent engineers and academicians. It focuses on quality enhancement rather than profit. In fact, since engineering is a pragmatic course, we give utmost priority to the practical orientation. In addition, the college has a well-equipped lab, which is probably the best among its contemporaries in Nepal. The college has managed to recruit highly qualified full-time faculty members along with visiting lecturers. We provide supplementary courses with practical orientation classes, which are required for students to adjust themselves in the global market.

You said earlier that the college is focusing on quality enhancement. Could you please tell us what are the parameters for quality enhancement?

Some of the parameters are prepared by the Institute of Engineering and the University themselves, and we strictly follow those parameters. Besides, we have focused on course completion and extra-curricular activities. The most crucial parameter for quality enhancement is performance of the students.

The dropout rate of engineering program is heard to be higher than other fields of study. Is engineering a difficult course to study? What could be the reasons behind it?

Engineering education, in fact, is not a difficult course, but the students who enroll in engineering program should fulfill basic quality and prerequisites. Some of the students enroll in engineering education due to the pressure of their parents and peers. Similarly, some students fail to maintain their minimal standard required for pursuing engineering qualification. In the present situation, the diligence of students has been gradually decreasing. Another major cause of drop out of students is because of the trend of going to foreign lands for higher study. So, some of the students quit their study in a half-way with the mindset that it’s easy to acquire education in a foreign land.

The research and internship privileges are scarcely available for engineering students in Nepal. Since you are the treasurer at AECoN, what efforts have you made to implement research and internship offers to the pupils?

Research is conducted compulsorily only in master’s level, and only basic level research is done in bachelor’s level. But in recent days, the issue of research and internship has been raised with priority. So, the University is preparing to include research work in its course. And our organization is working to implement this plan. In fact, engineering of TU is of 8-9 semesters but in general there are only 6 semesters in other universities; as a result, the students of TU have to carry more burden than the students of other universities.

At last, what message would you like to convey to ten-plus-two graduates who are in pursuit of their higher education in bachelor’s level in Nepal?

Students should select their course by analyzing their aptitude, abilities and basic knowledge of this field. They should analyze their quality and background before embarking on the stream in bachelor’s level. The students who are good at mathematics and physics can do better in engineering too. So, the students who have competency in mathematics and physics are eligible for engineering education.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here