Opportunities and Challenges of Higher Education: Status of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Tribhuvan University

Abstract

This paper primarily discusses the major challenges the faculty of humanities and social sciences facing today at Tribhuvan University with more emphasis on exploring the future prospects as opportunities in its areas in the context of growing educational unemployment in Nepal. University degree has largely become a basic requirement to enter into the job market in most of the areas particularly in Nepal today. This is because higher education has been accessible to all whoever passes higher secondary education including all undergraduate studies. Although access to higher education has been easier to all the common people there are challenges in getting job in the market even after an individual gets the certificate of university degree. The government and universities of Nepal have not realized yet that we need a body of knowledge to solve the problems at our own local realities, experiences and actual need in the areas of humanities and social sciences. Most of the political leaders representing government and secretaries and officers in bureaucracy are from the field of humanities and social sciences. However, government is hesitant to invest in the areas of humanities and social sciences on higher education. Government’s investment in the universities is decreasing, in proportion, every year. Within this reference the allocation in the areas of humanities and social sciences is very low. Attraction is now increasing in technical area which is good from job perspective. But ignoring the importance of social science discipline which is continuously leading country is certainly not good. The advocates of such ideas have quoted success stories of countries like India and China. But they have not heeded to the fact that mere focus on science will ultimately result in the failure to produce fully developed human resources. These are the challenges facing by social sciences of Nepal. However, there are some new opportunities emerging in this area when it is examined in the context of Tribhuvan University. Some examples can be referenced with growing scope of social science disciplines such as Sociology, Social Work, International Relations, Economics and discipline in humanities such as English as attraction of larger number of students competing to get admission.