APQN Annual Academic Conference 2019 Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Nepal: Status, Issues and Way Forward APQN Annual Academic Conference 2019 Colombo, Sri Lanka 28-31 March 2019 Day 2 - Parallel Session subtheme: Innovative Approaches to IQA Development Deepak Kumar Khadka, PhD Research Director University Grants Commission Sanothimi, Bhaktapur Nepal

Higher Education…

Higher Education in Nepal Institutions and students (2016/17) Universities 9 Open University 1 Medical academies 4 TOTAL 14 Colleges University campuses 99 Community campuses 532 Private campuses 777 TOTAL 1408 Programs students PhD 1,222 MPhil 648 Masters 54,314 Bachelors 315,000 TOTAL 371,184 Source: UGC EMIS Report 2016/17

QAA Actors…

Higher Education in Nepal Institutional Players for QAA Ministry of Education Science and Technology University Grants Commission Higher Education QAA Council National Professional Councils Higher Education Institutions

Professional Councils and their QAA function… or lack of National Professional Councils Accreditation service 1. Nepal Medical Council (NMC) Yes 2. Nepal Engineering Council (NEC) Partly 3. Nepal Health Professional Council (NHPC) 4. Nepal Nursing Council (NNC) No 5. Nepal Ayurvedic Medical Council (NAMC) 6. Nepal Veterinary Council (NVC) 7. Nepal Bar Council (NBC) 8. Nepal Pharmacy Council (NPC)

QAA Process…

QAA History QAA History QAA History 1. Second Higher Education Reform Project (2007-2014) 1. Second Higher Education Reform Project (2007-2014) 1. Second Higher Education Reform Project (2007-2014) 1. Second Higher Education Reform Project (2007-2014) Components Programs Funding (mil. $) (percent) Achieved 1. Reform grants Institutional reform grant, Research funding 55.24 68.2% 2. Student financial assistance   4.2 5.2% 3. Higher Secondary Education Basic grant, Matching fund, Performance grant, Equipment and capacity development 18.4 22.7% 4. Strengthening system capacity QAA system, EMIS system, System capacity development, Office equipment and supplies, HR development 3.12 3.8% National QAA system set up 11 institutions accredited TOTAL 80.96 Components Programs Funding (mil. $) (percent) Achieved 1. Reform grants Institutional reform grant, Research funding 55.24 68.2% 2. Student financial assistance   4.2 5.2% 3. Higher Secondary Education Basic grant, Matching fund, Performance grant, Equipment and capacity development 18.4 22.7% 4. Strengthening system capacity QAA system, EMIS system, System capacity development, Office equipment and supplies, HR development 3.12 3.8% National QAA system set up 11 institutions accredited TOTAL 80.96 Components Programs Funding (mil. $) (percent) Achieved 1. Reform grants Institutional reform grant, Research funding 55.24 68.2% 2. Student financial assistance   4.2 5.2% 3. Higher Secondary Education Basic grant, Matching fund, Performance grant, Equipment and capacity development 18.4 22.7% 4. Strengthening system capacity QAA system, EMIS system, System capacity development, Office equipment and supplies, HR development 3.12 3.8% National QAA system set up 11 institutions accredited TOTAL 80.96 Components Programs Funding (mil. $) (percent) Achieved 1. Reform grants Institutional reform grant, Research funding 55.24 68.2% 2. Student financial assistance   4.2 5.2% 3. Higher Secondary Education Basic grant, Matching fund, Performance grant, Equipment and capacity development 18.4 22.7% 4. Strengthening system capacity QAA system, EMIS system, System capacity development, Office equipment and supplies, HR development 3.12 3.8% National QAA system set up 11 institutions accredited TOTAL 80.96 2. [Third] Higher Education Reform Project (2015-2010) 2. [Third] Higher Education Reform Project (2015-2010) 2. [Third] Higher Education Reform Project (2015-2010) 2. [Third] Higher Education Reform Project (2015-2010) Reform programs Funding (mil. $) Percent Key Performance Indicator 1. National QAA System 9.00 13.8% 125 institutions accredited 2. Grants to HEI 16.87 25.9.0% 265 institutions supported 3. Autonomy to HEI 7.50 11.5% 10 campuses 4. Examination reforms at TU 6.37 9.8% Exam result in 3 months 5. Academic program reform 140 reformed/new academic programs 6. Student financial aid 4.50 6.9% 9500 student partially supported 7. Research Funding 6.75 10.4% 500 research projects funded, 60 scientists recruited for TU 8. Project Management and Capacity Development 5.00 7.7% TOTAL 65.00 Reform programs Funding (mil. $) Percent Key Performance Indicator 1. National QAA System 9.00 13.8% 125 institutions accredited 2. Grants to HEI 16.87 25.9.0% 265 institutions supported 3. Autonomy to HEI 7.50 11.5% 10 campuses 4. Examination reforms at TU 6.37 9.8% Exam result in 3 months 5. Academic program reform 140 reformed/new academic programs 6. Student financial aid 4.50 6.9% 9500 student partially supported 7. Research Funding 6.75 10.4% 500 research projects funded, 60 scientists recruited for TU 8. Project Management and Capacity Development 5.00 7.7% TOTAL 65.00 Reform programs Funding (mil. $) Percent Key Performance Indicator 1. National QAA System 9.00 13.8% 125 institutions accredited 2. Grants to HEI 16.87 25.9.0% 265 institutions supported 3. Autonomy to HEI 7.50 11.5% 10 campuses 4. Examination reforms at TU 6.37 9.8% Exam result in 3 months 5. Academic program reform 140 reformed/new academic programs 6. Student financial aid 4.50 6.9% 9500 student partially supported 7. Research Funding 6.75 10.4% 500 research projects funded, 60 scientists recruited for TU 8. Project Management and Capacity Development 5.00 7.7% TOTAL 65.00 Reform programs Funding (mil. $) Percent Key Performance Indicator 1. National QAA System 9.00 13.8% 125 institutions accredited 2. Grants to HEI 16.87 25.9.0% 265 institutions supported 3. Autonomy to HEI 7.50 11.5% 10 campuses 4. Examination reforms at TU 6.37 9.8% Exam result in 3 months 5. Academic program reform 140 reformed/new academic programs 6. Student financial aid 4.50 6.9% 9500 student partially supported 7. Research Funding 6.75 10.4% 500 research projects funded, 60 scientists recruited for TU 8. Project Management and Capacity Development 5.00 7.7% TOTAL 65.00

Benchmarks, Weight and Indicators Nepal UGC-HEQAAC QAA Process Institutional Accreditation Benchmarks, Weight and Indicators Criteria Weight Indicators (Questions) 1 Policy and Procedures 15 2 Curricular Aspects 10 3 Teaching-Learning and Evaluation 21 4 Research, Consultancy and Extension 16 5 Infrastructure and Learning Resources 20 28 6 Student Support and Guidance 14 7 Information System 8 Public Information TOTAL 100 120 Result: 50 or above marks: “Accredited” Less than 50 marks: “Not accredited”

Nepal UGC-HEQAAC QAA Process Higher Education Institution (HEI) submits Self Study Report (SSR) Feedback HEQAAC Technical Committee reviews the SSR HEQAAC forms Peer Review Team (PRT) PRT reviews the SSR Pre-decision recommendation PRT makes a Pre-visit, Visit and Follow-up visit at the applicant institution Progress report by HEI Assessment of progress report PRT submits its Report to HEQAAC HEQAAC sends its recommendation to UGC UGC makes the final decision

Quality of education…

Nepal Higher Education Achievement Candidates – Institutions type and strength Institution type Number Student density Student pass rate University campuses 99 1224 23.56 % Community campuses 532 198 21.83 % Private campuses 777 185 34.02 % TOTAL 1808 263 Source: UGC EMIS Report 2016/17

21 years Publication per 1000 population Nepal Higher Education Achievement Research Publication Strength of Nepal and neighbors Country SCImago data (1996-2017) Population (2017) 21 years Publication per 1000 population Citable Documents Citations per Document H index 1 China 5052579 7.64 712 7,550,262,101 6.7 2 India 1379217 8.58 521 1,409,517,397 9.8 3 Thailand 148862 11.1 289 69,037,513 21.5 4 Pakistan 121836 7.38 217 197,015,955 6.2 5 Bangladesh 38897 8.85 167 164,669,751 2.4 6 Sri Lanka 15364 11.85 146 20,876,917 7.3 7 Nepal 10755 11.08 116 29,304,998 3.7 8 Myanmar 2145 10.12 64 53,370,609 0.4 9 Afghanistan 1052 13.49 45 35,530,081 0.3 10 Bhutan 696 7.85 36 807,610 8.6 11 Maldives 248 10.98 26 436,330 5.7

Status of QAA …

Nepal UGC-HEQAAC QAA Process 1. Institutions Participation (2009-2019) Institution type Total LOI SSR Accredtd Reaccredtd University campuses 99 75 25 9 - Community campuses 532 150 62 20 6 Private campuses 777 96 11 1 TOTAL 1408 321 98 30 2. Level of Participation Institution type Interested (LOI/Total) Willing (SSR/LOI) Successful (Accrd/SSR) University campuses 7.6% 3.3% 36.0% Community campuses 2.8% 4.1% 42.0% Private campuses 1.2% 1.1% 9.0% All campuses 2.3% 3.0% 36.7%

Nepal UGC-HEQAAC QAA Process Participation trend – 10 Years Year LOI SSR Accrd* 2009 11 1 2010 2011 25 3 4 2012 38 5 2013 20 6 2 2014 51 7 2015 85 10 2016 2017 41 22 15 2018 23 TOTAL 321 98 36 *Accredited and re-accredited

Number of Institutions Nepal UGC-HEQAAC QAA Process Major problem: Poor participation of institutions in QAA process Step Number of Institutions Ratio LOI submission 321/1408 2.3% SSR after LOI 98/321 3.0% Accreditation after SSR 36/98 36.7%

Financial reward (N₹. ‘000) Nepal UGC-HEQAAC QAA Process COST Accreditation Fee: Free Financial Reward: Based on the number of graduating students Rewarding step Financial reward (N₹. ‘000) Technical/ 200 students Technical 1000 students General/ LOI submission 200 SSR submission 400 PRT formation 500 PRT visit 18000 90000 6000 30000 Accreditation 150000 10000 50000 Research Cell 1000 Laboratory 5000   TOTAL (N₹) 55100 247100 18100 82100 TOTAL (US$) 606,000 US$ 2,718,000 US$ 199,000 US$ 903,000 US$

Nepal UGC-HEQAAC QAA Process CULPRIT for poor participation Factor Possibility Cost Definitely No Hassle Could be (takes average 2 years) No or low impact of Accreditation Needs a study on impact Unconvincing prestige Needs a survey Poor institutional leadership Likely for public institutions

Nepal UGC-HEQAAC QAA Process Recent Major Regulatory Initiatives for QAA Regulation Year Impact 1 The UGC Educational Quality Assurance and Accreditation Regulation 2017 2017 Towards an autonomous QAA council 2 The QAAC Higher Education Quality Assurance and Accreditation Directive 2017 Staff provision 3 The UGC Notice Regarding Mandatory Participation of Higher Education Institutions in Quality Assurance and Accreditation, 23 January 2018 2018 Participation in QAA mandatory 4 Quality Assurance and Accreditation: A Brief Guidelines 2013 Reprint 2018 More promotion

Thank You! Lumbini – the birthplace of Lord Buddha Photo: Aravinda Shakya Lumbini – the birthplace of Lord Buddha