Kathmandu, September 14:

Since the restoration of democracy and unleashing of market forces, one sector that has boomed beyond all proportions, is the educational sector. While private education institutions have grown by the dozens to nineteen, opening new avenues for students, they have also spawned concerns over extreme commercialisation of education.

Today, the quality of the education sector is suspect, particularly in the light of the fact there is no central authority in the country, supervising and ensuring quality in the education sector. Given this backdrop, the importance of accreditation by some renowned outside organisation becomes important for institutes and more so, for students.

Dr Niren M Vyas, the former dean of University of South Carolina Aiken, US, is presently in conversation with the Apex College, Kathmandu, an institute that has already made a name for itself in the area of business and management education, over streamlining the curriculum, imbuing courses with global standards and ensuring students inculcate skills that would help them succeed in the global arena.

Dr Vyas, while talking to The Himalayan Times, said that today it is a global challenge for business schools to produce students that meet the requirement of the industry. More often than not, the industry accuses very reputed institutes even in US of producing ‘faulty products’ as students who need to be retrained by the industry all over again.

Dr Vyas points to the insular and often myopic, nature of most educational institute as the cause for this anomaly. He says, “It is of utmost importance that curriculum should be formulated keeping in mind the needs of the times and the industry”.

He feels that in addition to having theoretical and conceptual knowledge on management topics, students must also have a firm grounding in some core competencies. These are:

• Be a good communicator

• Be a global thinker

• Be a team player

• Be a change agent

• Be entrepreneurial

• Be a critical thinker

• Have the ability to solve problems

• Be a spiritual compass for the organisation

• Be a life long learner

These lessons are equally important and relevant for the best business and management school in US as well as in Kathmandu, Dr Vyas feels. These are qualities that will make a student succeed in his career, irrespective of the place he works in, according to Dr Vyas.

On the importance of accreditation, Dr Vyas says, “Having a accreditation ensures a minimum level of quality and recognition by the industry globally.” Accreditation by globally reputed institutes like the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) of US, however, is a demanding and a long drawn out procedure. But apparently, it is worth the effort, as an institute like AACSB can keep the accredited organisation constantly on its toe in terms of the quality of education it imparts.

Dr Vyas, a Fullbright Senior Scholar at KUSOM from January to September 2004, feels that the quality of students in Nepal is comparable to any place in the world. But, he concedes, that there is large scope for improvement in the guidance they get and training they receive. Therefore, he feels, it is of great importance, that leading educational institutes in Nepal must look and learn form global models to ensure that their students can compete with the crème-de-la-crème of the world.