प्रमिला भट्ट
Kathmandu. The large business house Golchha Group has entered the education sector. This group, which has been operating in the industry for a long time, has established Embark College to provide high-quality education in Nepal.
Embark College is led by Ashish Thakur. He came to Kathmandu from Lahan. Thakur, who started his studies in Kathmandu from grade 5, has done his Bachelor of Business Administration in a Nepali college affiliated to a foreign university.
Thakur, who is professionally working in skill development education, has a 35-year family legacy. Thakur’s experience in business is focused on skill development for 12 years.
Thakur, who has been working in skill development for a long time with Glocal Company, has started Embark College in collaboration with Golchha Group.
In Nepal, the number of students going abroad to study has been increasing since they passed SLC. The number of colleges established in Nepal being sold has also increased. But Golchha Group and Glocal have invested in Nepal saying that there is a potential for jobs. But Ashish argues that the narrative that people are leaving Nepal should change.
He says, “That is the biggest dialogue. While talking about people going abroad, some are increasing investment in hotels, some in hospitals. In Nepal, it is because of people. We have created a narrative that all people have gone abroad. This needs to change.
There are many people who look up to us, but some go abroad out of compulsion, but people in Nepal should get a good education. We study abroad for the same reasons as we do, mainly because of courses that suit the market and for compulsion. People go abroad for other compulsions. We cannot stop those who go abroad for other compulsions.”
But he says that opportunities should be given to those seeking high-quality education in Nepal. In Nepal, it is not possible to study in a college with better education and good infrastructure, whether that college only conducts exams and gives certificates or teaches skills. According to Ashish, who established the college to provide this opportunity to students, whether it supports them for self-empowerment in professional life or not.
He adds, “The college does not focus on the percentage that a student should get. The student should be thinking about what he should do, whether he should learn various skills in his professional life or in his personal life, whether he should do various networking activities and whether he can get to know more people and advance his work. We are looking for students who can do all these things. We have set special criteria for the interview so that we can get to know the student ourselves in the admission criteria.”
The college plans to give students ‘value for money’ at various levels, from academics to skills, from international exposure to national exposure.
The college has started an international business program called ‘Business Incubation at Embark’ to convert what students have studied into employment. Which will be led by a person who is experienced in entrepreneurship both in Nepal and abroad. This program will teach students how to become businessmen, how to activate those businessmen, what are the problems they face, how to find funding, all this will be given to the students by Opportunity College from the very beginning.
In this way, the college provides academic support to the students. After passing out from this college, the student does not have to take any kind of training or go for internship again, and the college has designed a program so that he learns to do all these things while studying.
Regarding the student’s learning process, Ashish says, “We talk about the quality of education, and we have worked on what the student’s interests are. We have focused more on the student’s experience. College is a place to make your ideas and friends. We give students space for learning. We have focused more on the student’s experience so that students can think of college as an office and work even at 9 o’clock at night. Our goal is to do it in the best possible way.”
Ashish says that the college does not convince any students and emphasizes quality.
Two business groups have invested in the college. About the business history, Thakur says, “We have been leading for 30 years and have been in education for 30 years. If we talk about the Golchha Group, we have been in various groups and industries for more than a hundred years. By combining all of them, we are carrying a history of 130 years. While carrying this, we have made the trust a very big factor.
This means that we have earned a big profit from this college and now this is it, we never thought that we should count on this. When it comes to education, education is not a business, it is also a responsibility.”
Ashish says that students will never say that they have left the country. He adds, “We cannot tell anyone not to go from this place to that place. We should instead create such an education that we should work towards attracting students from other countries to study in our country. We should not complain that students have left.”
What kind of college is Embark College ?
##
## Embark College is a college operated by the University of Roe Hampton in the UK and the Ministry of Education, Government of Nepal.
##
## This college has 2 programs. According to the rules of the Government of Nepal, Bachelor’s is 4 years and Masters is 2 years. According to the rules of the Government of Nepal, to get approval from a Nepali university, it must be a college within the top 1000. Accordingly, Embark has fulfilled all the criteria.
##
## The college has started a 4-year BAC and MBA program. These two programs also cover the course of Roe Hampton and the environment of Nepal.
The curriculum has been prepared to prepare the manpower required by Nepali companies and Nepali industries. Renowned businessmen of Nepal will also take classes in the college. This is a golden opportunity for students studying in the college.
According to the college, the type of manpower required will be produced in consultation with Nepali industrialists. The college will train students so that they do not have to undergo re-training for experience after completing their studies. The college plans to be the first such college in Nepal.
The college claims to provide value ‘for money’ to students based on quality.
What is the quality ?
##
## The style of teaching in Nepal will be the same as that at Roe Hampton University in the UK. The students there will use the same online library as they have used in the library. The management of ‘Roe Hampton’ will come and monitor the management of the college.
##
## The college will use teachers from both Nepali and foreign countries. There are lecturers and visiting professors who have taught in various universities. The college has appointed teachers who have taught in international colleges for at least 10 years. The college has completely allocated 10 percent to poor and meritorious students. The college has fully complied with the 10 percent scholarship criteria of the Government of Nepal. For example, out of 100 students, 10 have been completely exempted.
How is the physical structure of the college?
The college has prepared a structure that can teach 600 students in a season. As part of the location, the building and land have been leased from Pulchowk Engineering Campus at Kupandol Chowk. The location will be convenient for all students living in Kathmandu Valley.
The classrooms at Embark College are named after various lakes in Nepal. For example, Fewa Lake, Rara Lake, Begnas Lake, etc. High-quality snack shops and furniture are kept inside the college. For the students’ refreshment, there are places to play pool, snooker, and table tennis. Students can go to college and work from morning to evening. In this way, the college has developed the students as their own office. Himalayan Java Coffee has also been placed in the college.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्