Many universities in Nepal are now switching to the semester system, which is widely used around the world as the annual exam system did not prepare students for real-life situations
Miss Sunita Thapa, whose true identity remains undisclosed, was a diligent student enrolled in the Bachelor of Business Studies programme at a private college in Kathmandu, affiliated with Tribhuvan University. Renowned for her sincerity and hardworking nature, she consistently excelled in the internal assessments, earning appreciable marks. During the board exams, she got sick and couldn't do her best, despite working hard all year. Consequently, the year-long efforts did not pay off and would affect her career. This representative case showed that Tribhuvan University's annual exam system was problematic, which pushed it to adopt the semester system for academic betterment.
Many universities in Nepal are now switching to the semester system, which is widely used around the world. The yearly assessment of students relies only on a single, three-hour exam known as the annual examination. Students were thus engaged in rote learning without truly understanding the subject matter. This system didn't prepare students well for real-life situations and hardly allowed them to reach their full potential.
Tribhuvan University followed the yearly schedule from its inception in 2016 BS. In 2030 BS, it changed to the semester system but stopped after six years. In 2070 BS, it restarted the semester system in many of its campuses. Some faculties like medicine, engineering, forestry and agriculture have, however, always adopted the semester system.
Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM), which was founded in 2050 B.S., was the first institution in Nepal to provide a Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme under a semester system that adhered to international norms. Due to its educational quality and agile administrative practices, other universities in Nepal have emulated its teaching approaches and administrative skills.
The semester system has now been embraced by Nepal's universities to enhance the holistic learning of students. In this system, the academic calendar is divided into autumn and spring semesters, fostering year-round engagement. It offers balanced course loads, flexibility and ongoing assessments through seminars, debates and practical studies. The focus is on the timely completion of the syllabus, exams as per the pre-panned or determined calendar, and timely feedback on students' performance. The system promotes quality education and boosts student confidence through multimedia presentations and collaborative learning. This approach is student-centered, practical and enriches higher education foundations.
Students' overall evaluation is calculated mostly based on internal and external evaluation. The grading system relies heavily on internal evaluation, where a significant percentage, ranging from 50 per cent to 90 per cent, of the total marks is allotted for this purpose.
In the semester system, every teacher is in continuous interaction with the students and in the evaluation of their educational activity. As a result, the social and emotional bonhomie between the teacher and the student is strengthened.
However, Nepal's institutions are not effectively implementing the semester system's objectives. Everyone must comprehend the issues and come up with effective remedies to maintain excellence. The following thoughts are based on the duo's observations and personal experiences:
The universities do not seem to follow a coordinated academic calendar. The curriculum should be constantly updated so that students acquire the latest knowledge. However, these updates take a while to complete. Students also struggle in that the subjects do not flow smoothly from one section of the course to the next, and some are overly comprehensive while others aren't.
There are no specific guidelines regarding the number of subjects that students must pass in the previous semester to be eligible for promotion in the subsequent/final semester. Consequently, during the last semester, similar to the annual system, students face the pressure of taking all the exams at once. As in the annual system, some universities are involved in unethical practices of creating question papers with full marks of 100 for internal evaluation, which leads to manipulation of the internal assessments.
Teachers should be stopped from checking the final exam papers at home so as to make them more responsible and fairer. Ultimately, this would save time, energy and efforts.
In many Nepali universities, there's a tradition of considering people who have no teaching experience but have had a higher education as experts in curriculum development. However, a competent subject expert would also need many years of teaching experience in their respective field.
The semester system should not be confined to only semester divisions but also be formulated based on teaching techniques that focus on the students and aimed at improving the teaching-learning environment. Education should guide students in developing expertise in their chosen fields and the ability to think imaginatively and innovatively.
While adopting and implementing educational programmes, universities must consider how to prevent negative effects of foreign influences. Decision-making that is based on threats and pressure from foreign sources would result in bad outcomes and/or long-lasting negative impacts.
Universities in Nepal must be insightful about certain aspects of the current semester system, with constant enhancement and endeavours to grasp its true ethos. This will decide the quality of education imparted by the universities.
Rajopadhyaya, PhD, is Assistant Professor at School of Management, Kathmandu University and Baral, PhD, is a freelance researcher at Mega National College
