The introduction of this innovative step in teaching and learning is expected to strengthen the research culture, which is rather weak in the universities of Nepal
The Tribhuvan University Senate has virtually ignited a spark in the otherwise gloomy academic arena by making the doctoral degree mandatory for teaching in the Central Campus. This decision was made by the senate in its meeting held in December last year. Till now, master's degree holders could also teach master's level students. The other constituent campuses also will emulate this best practice soon in the future. It will not only improve the standard of teaching in the university but also help to establish a research culture. It will also discourage the flight of young students to foreign countries, which has virtually reduced the country to an abode of senior citizens.
The doctoral degree is also known as the Doctor of Philosophy. It is believed to have its origin as far back as the 12th century when a doctoral degree was conferred by Paros University. But the credit goes to the well-known academician, Wilhelm Von Humboldt. He had started a doctoral degree-awarding institute around 1810. It could not take off as desired in the so-called old world. However, the new world, the United States, pursued it rather passionately. Consequently, it awarded the first doctoral degree in Yale in the year 1861. By this time, only Durbar High School had been established in Nepal. Moreover, it was delivering only lower level education. People invariably went to India for higher studies.
The famous university of Britain, Oxford, awarded the doctoral degree for the first time in 1920 in the United Kingdom. Effort towards higher education had made a beginning by this time in Nepal with the establishment of Tri Chandra College in 1919.
In the East also, it must have been awarded in legendary universities like Takshashila and Nalanda. Its documentation, however, is not very clear. The bachelor, master's and doctoral degrees are known as the sashtri, acharya and vidyabaradi, the latter meaning a sea of knowledge. It is being awarded by Nepal University, a centre of Sanskrit learning at the present.
Nepal has an association of Doctor of Philosophy, which was established in 2008. It has brought all doctoral degree holders under one umbrella. Established with a broad vision of affirming knowledge base link for the benefit of the people and their environment, it has yet to be functional in full swing. For example, it has yet to make a survey of the doctoral degree holders. It is said that there are around 4,000 such scholars, 1,500 of whom are abroad, with the remaining 2,500 scattered around the length and breadth of the country.
The doctoral degree is assessed primarily by the thesis. It should be able to make contributions to knowledge or understanding. For example, Aristotle had defined 'force' way back in 4th century BC. But Newton not only defined it as something which changes the state of motion, he also calculated its magnitude as the product of mass and acceleration. He also highlighted the nature of force, saying that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So, Newton made contributions to both knowledge and understanding of force. Such an academic finding is recognised as being worthy of a doctoral degree.
Another example of contribution to knowledge or understanding is Buddhism. Sage Kapila, proponent of the Samkhya philosophy, had said earlier that there was suffering in the world. But the Buddha found that the cause of suffering was desire. He also said that suffering could not be eliminated but it could certainly be alleviated by following the eightfold path, which consisted of the Right View, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.
The present provision has been welcomed by both teachers as well as students,saying that it will improve the academic milieu of the university. The students in particular have opined that it will be easier for them to understand the lectures as the doctoral degree holders can go into the depth of the subject while teaching.
Though it has not been researched in Nepal, a study made by Patricia Alves et al entitled 'the value of doctoral education in the intersection of the multiple purposes of higher education' has made an interesting revelation towards the value of doctoral education. This research was carried out with the participation of 25 focus groups consisting of members of scientific and monitoring commissions, supervisor of Ph. D. candidates and holders from one Portuguese university's doctoral programme.
This study has revealed that the dimensions of the value of a doctoral degree are, firstly, personal following the aforementioned study. Secondly, it has been identified as academic, career agency and development. The third has been knowledge, knowledge output and outcomes, and fourthly the socio-economic impact. Though the first two bring benefits to the individual, the following two enrich the community, the society and the country.
The knowledge output and the outcome are certainly important. Because the production and the consequence of knowledge does not remain only with the doctoral degree holder, the teacher, but it eventually spills down to the students also. As the teacher holding a doctoral degree will have carried out in-depth research over a long time, it will certainly generate a culture of research in academic learning.
Teaching, research and application form the trinity of higher education, according to Professor Tirtha Raj Khaniya, a former vice chancellor of the Tribhuvan University. He has disclosed this fact in his seminal book 'Shifting Paradigms in Higher Education'. So far, Tribhuvan University has been focussed more on teaching, less on research and least on application. The introduction of this innovative step in teaching and learning is expected to strengthen the research culture, which has been found rather weak in the universities of Nepal.
