Declining Student Enrollment in Myagdi Campus and Community Colleges
The number of students pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Myagdi Multiple Campus, located in Beni, the district headquarters of Myagdi, has been continuously declining for the past three years.
Outside the headquarters, Mangala Education Campus in Babiyachaur has 112 students, while Muktimarg Campus in Ghar has 55 students. All three community-run campuses are affiliated with Tribhuvan University. Due to decreasing student numbers, New West Point Foundation closed the undergraduate management classes it had been running two years ago.
The decline in student numbers at community-operated campuses and the closure of privately run campuses are attributed to the declining birth rate over the past two decades, increasing migration, and the trend of students seeking both employment and educational opportunities abroad.
According to Myagdi Multiple Campus Chief, Shridhar Subedi, the rate of new enrollment at the undergraduate level has dropped, and even those who enroll often do not remain until the final year. In the fiscal year 2079/80, the campus had 885 students enrolled in the faculties of Humanities, Management, and Education. This number decreased to 703 in 2080/81 and further dropped to 558 in 2081/82.
In the Computer Science subject at the undergraduate level, 21 students were enrolled in 2079/80, 28 in 2080/81, and 23 in 2081/82. For postgraduate studies in Management and Education, 45 students enrolled in 2079/80, 60 in 2080/81, and 46 in 2081/82.
Out of the total 628 students currently studying at the campus, 64.97 percent are female. Despite the decline in student numbers, the campus’s pass rate has increased, said Chief Subedi. At the undergraduate level, the pass rate was 28.68 percent in 2078, 35.22 percent in 2079, and 37.22 percent in 2080. The results for 2081 are yet to be published. At the postgraduate level, all 108 students who took the 2023 examination passed in every subject, according to Subedi.
“The campus has received Quality Assurance Accreditation (QAA) from the University Grants Commission. Although the pass rate has improved, the challenge remains to increase and sustain student numbers,” he said. “With fewer students, the revenue from fees has decreased, creating difficulties in managing resources for campus operations.”
Sociology Professor and former campus chief, Gorakh Bahadur Jisi, explained that out of about 1,500 constituent and affiliated campuses of Tribhuvan University, there are 400 campuses with fewer than 100 students. “There are not even 100 community campuses with more than 500 students. Among the 40 to 45 campuses with around 1,000 students, Myagdi Campus is also included,” he said. “Until 2078, Myagdi Campus had around 1,400 students, but the main reason for the decline has been foreign employment.”
According to him, 35 students from the Faculty of Management applied for recommendation letters in the same year to pursue studies in Japan. After completing Grade 12, students tend to enroll in large city campuses while preparing for jobs, and many leave for countries like Japan and Australia before completing higher education.
In rural campuses, the majority of students come from disadvantaged communities, daughters-in-law, and working individuals. Dipendra Kumar Shrestha, Chairperson of the Myagdi Campus Management Committee, said that the campus has been running hostels, scholarship facilities, entrepreneurship promotion programs, public service exam preparation classes, and technical classes in computer and science subjects.
“If the state does not create an environment where higher education comes with employment opportunities, community campuses will continue to face student shortages,” he said. “We have planned community-centered and research-based projects in coordination with local governments to retain students in district campuses instead of them leaving for other cities.”
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