Faceoff:
Should the US ban
Breaking new
ground:
Sunil Devkota
Page 3
PERSPECTIVES
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The business of business schools
Despite the popularity of management courses, leading corporate houses complain that competent managers are still difficult to find
Shradha Pal
Kathmandu
A
decade ago almost every
parent yearned for their
child to become a doctor
or an engineer. Now the
‘prestigious’ career path
is management. But with man-
agement colleges mushrooming
in almost every nook and cor-
ner of the valley, are well quali-
fied managers being produced?
Or are these colleges’ simply
cashing in on this demand with-
out really contributing towards
creating a true equilibrium of
demand and supply? These are
pertinent questions that need to
be pondered upon.
There are four universities in
Nepal which provide affiliation
to various colleges -- Tribhuvan
University (TU), Kathmandu
University (KU), Pokhara Uni-
versity and Purbanchal Univer-
sity (PU). The growing popular-
ity of management and busi-
ness studies can also be seen
through the number of affiliat-
ed colleges in the valley alone.
Many colleges are affiliated to
TU for management, but only at
the Bachelors level. More than
500 colleges are affilitated with
TU for BBS and 18 colleges for
BBA. For this year, the number
of students appearing for BBS
first year examinations is more
than 40,000 and only 25 percent
are expected to pass. For BBA, a
year’s intake of students is
around 1,080 in all the colleges,
out of which only minumum
per cent are expected to pass.
On questioning how the qual-
ity is maintained, assistant
dean of TU, Dr Prof Kamal Das
Manandhar says, “We do not
have a particular mechanism to
measure quality, but we mea-
sure it in terms of annual suc-
cess rate of the graduates.”
Manandhar further added that
reducing affiliation will not
help solve the problem, because
political parties will not allow
it. “They cannot function with-
Fee structure of management schools
Prakriti Pathak
Kathmandu
S
ince Management courses
are cross-disciplinary ap-
plication, students from di-
verse field are attracted to-
wards management education.
Previously, TU offered Inter-
mediate in Commerce (I.Com)
and Bachelor in Commerce
(B.Com) and Masters in Com-
merce (M.Com) but later un-
dergraduate and master levels
were replaced by Bachelor in
Business Studies (BBS) and
Master in Business Studies
(MBS). Since BBS runs in the
annual system, Kathmandu
College of Management (KCM)
introduced Bachelor in Busi-
ness Administration (BBA) in
1997 for the first time in Nepal
under the affiliation of Kath-
mandu University. BBA is a
four-year programme and runs
in a semester system. Follow-
ing KCM, Purbanchal Univer-
sity and Pokhara University
outsourcing?
Basant Raj Mishra Page 6
on the challenges
ahead for tourism
in Nepal
Page 5 Nepal’s
entertainment
brand
Page 7
S U N D A Y , SEPTEMBER 12, 2010
The Himalayan Times
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popularity of the course,
employers of leading cor-
porate houses complain
that competent managers
are difficult to find.” The
“There has been
problem, according to no increase in the
him, is that the education per cent aspiring to
system is not designed to start their own
produce best managers. business because the
Nonetheless, students political and economic
are still opting for profes- environment is
sional courses like MBA
and EMBA. According to
not conducive”
ASHISH TIWARI,
Tiwari, opportunities for principal and director of Ace Institute
a fresh MBA graduate are of Management
plenty. But 50 to 60 per
cent of the graduates seek
jobs in banking or finan-
cial institutions. He says
that 10 to 20 per cent also ates, but it depends on working executives.
show a keen interest to individuals. In terms of “EMBA is a major and
start their own entrepre- Mega Bank, a fresh common platform from
neurial venture. “It is not graduate gets accepted as people of diverse back-
the same mindset they a management trainee for grounds for networking,”
had five years ago. one to two years with Rs says Tiwari. It is evident
Unfortunately, there has 17,000 as starting salary. that the state needs to pay
been no increase in the Thereafter, when they are attention to this sector, at
per cent aspiring to start confirmed as an officer the same time, youth
their own business and the bar rises to Rs pursuing management
because the political and 22,000 excluding other courses have to be well
economic environment is benefits. “The main aware of the current
Photo courtesy: Ace Institute of Management
not conducive. Besides, it strength of fresh gradu- situation. Moreover, poli-
Nepal, joint secretary at the involves a lot of risk,” ates from Nepal is local tics and education should
Ministry of Education, moni- explained Tiwari. knowledge,” added Shah. be miles apart, if produc-
toring, evaluation and inspec- Anil Shah, CEO of EMBA, though a man- ing the best managers,
tion division, “Affiliation and Mega Bank Nepal Limited agement course, is a entrepreneurs and well
“The main strength of fresh quality is not in direct control said there are opportuni- different league and is educated human resource
graduates from Nepal is of the ministry. The university ties for fresh MBA gradu- designed mainly for is the ultimate goal.
has the final say on the matter.”
local knowledge” With such a bleak scenario of
ANIL SHAH. CEO of Mega Bank Nepal Limited much hyped management stud-
ies, the future does not seem
promising with increasing un-
employment on the cards.
Radesh Pant, CEO of Kumari
out the help of student unions. is not that simple, after all the Bank Limited, says, “The pre-
We are trying our best to in- necessary regime of inspecting sent job situation is such that
crease the quality of education the college, it receives permis- for requirement of 10 positions,
to an optimum level, but are sion and every college has to de- some 2,000 candidates apply.”
helpless. Few students come to posit Rs 1 million. Vice chancel- “There is definitely a shift
college for the purpose of edu- lor Dr Keshar Jung Baral re- from technical subjects to man-
cation, most do not even attend fused to comment on the matter agement courses,” says Rabin K
classes and we cannot coerce when contacted. Acharya, campus director of
them to do so,” he admits. In comparison, PU and KU Wigan and Leigh College
Pokhara University, though have given affiliation to a very (WLC). On the other hand,
only established in 1997, has ap- small number of colleges which Ashish Tiwari, principle and
proved 46 colleges for affiliation is 13 and three respectively. director of Ace Institute of
in management. But affiliation According to Janardhan Management, says, “Despite the
also introduced BBA as their tion,” says Professor Subas KC, of KCM adding that the pro-
first programme. dean of KUSOM. gramme contains the latest
In 1993, Kathmandu Univer- The fresh graduates of MBA and the best in management
sity School of Management are offered the starting salary knowledge and practice to
(KUSOM) offered two-year of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 for the keep students updated with the
Masters in Business Adminis- post of trainee manager. Most evolving nature and challenges
tration (MBA). It also intro- of the graduates are involved of management profession.
duced EMBA programme in in banking sector, while the KCM charges the highest fee
2001, which allows young other preferences are air- for BBA programme. The start-
corporate employ- lines, hotels, hospi- ing salary of BBA graduates is
ees to con- tals and in- between Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000.
t i n u e dustries. “Management expertise
their jobs T o d a y, gained at KCM has helped
while pur- there are broaden my knowledge and
suing the number of col- produce outstanding results
course. leges which offer for the organisation that
K U S O M underg raduate I work for,” asserts Rabi
charges Rs and postgraduate Rayamajhi, a graduate of
230,000 for management cours- KCM, who is currently
MBA pro- es. The fee struc- working as a junior officer in
gramme and Rs ture and the fa- Standard Chartered Bank.
260,000 for EMBA. Number of cilities provided by colleges National Open College
MBA graduates per year is vary. “The curriculum of BBS (NOC), affiliated to Pokhara
60 to 65 whereas that of EMBA and BBA are almost the same, University also offers BBA
is 25. “Our graduates need and the only difference is in course. Its tuition fee is lesser
not wander for job; most the teaching process. And this as compared to KCM. KCM tu-
of them are hired before is the main reason for charging ition fee is around Rs 600,000
they complete the programme maximum price for BBA,” says whereas NOC offers the same
through company presenta- Bishnu Raj Adhikari, founder course for around Rs 450,000.