E-business

E-business (electronic business):-Derived from such terms as "e-mail" and "e-commerce," is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners. One of the first to use the term was IBM, when, in October, 1997, it launched a thematic campaign built around the term. Today, major corp
orations are rethinking their businesses in terms of the Internet and its new culture and capabilities. Companies are using the Web to buy parts and supplies from other companies, to collaborate on sales promotions, and to do joint research. Exploiting the convenience, availability, and world-wide reach of the Internet,many companies, such as Amazon.com, the book sellers, have already discovered how to use the Internet successfully.
Increasingly, much direct selling (or e-tailing) is taking place on the Internet of computer-related equipment and software. One of the first to report sales in the millions of dollars directly from the Web was Dell Computer. Travel bookings directly or indirectly as a result of Web research are becoming significant. Custom-orderable golf clubs and similar specialties are considered good prospects for the immediate future.
With the security built into today's browsers and with digital certificates now available for individuals and companies from Verisign, a certificate issuer, much of the early concern about the security of business transaction on the Web has abated and e-business by whatever name is accelerating.
IBM considers the development of intranets and extranets to be part of e-business. e-business can be said to include e-service, the provision of services and tasks over the Internet by application service providers (ASP).

Informal education

Formal vs. Informal Education
Formal education is classroom-based, provided by trained teachers. Informal education happens outside the classroom, in after-school programs, community-based organizations, museums, libraries, or at home.
What are the main differences between the two?
In general, classrooms have the same kids and the same teachers every day. After-school programs are often drop-in, so attendance is inconsistent, as is leadership.
Classroom activities can last several days. After-school programs need to complete an activity each day because a different group of kids could be in attendance tomorrow.
You can assume that classroom-based teachers have a certain level of training in educational philosophy, effective teaching strategies, classroom management, and content. After-school providers, by contrast, vary in experience and knowledge of teaching techniques, content expertise, and group management. Typically, materials for after-school settings need to include a lot more structure.
Teachers need to meet educational standards and stick to a specified curriculum, which can make it difficult for them to incorporate nontraditional content. After-school programs, on the other hand, can be more flexible with their content.

Both formal and informal education settings offer different strengths to your educational outreach project. If your project fits in the classroom, it can have a very long life; teachers will use trusted resources for years. After-school programs offer a different kind of environment, where your activities don't need to be as formal and where you can reach a different audience.
While both schools and after-school programs serve students, many kids who feel disenfranchised at school blossom in after-school settings. Real learning can happen in a setting where kids feel less intimidated or more comfortable than they do in a formal classroom. The ultimate goal is that their success in an informal setting can lead to greater confidence in the formal classroom.
An additional benefit of developing materials for informal educational settings is that they may be useful to parents at home with their kids, or to adult learners who are looking to expand their knowledge, either for their own enrichment or to increase their career options.

About e-learning

E-Learning is a peer-reviewed international journal directed towards the study and research of e-learning in its diverse aspects: pedagogical, curricular, sociological, economic, philosophical and political. A Policy statement is available.
The journal aims to serve as an international forum to facilitate current research, practice and development of e-learning in education. Oriented toward practitioners in the field who are engaged in both the practice and theory of e-learning, it is a broadly conceived journal with a focus on research, evaluation of current practice, and the underlying theories of e-learning in its diverse forms.

E-Learning is particularly interested in articles that address theory and practice, although work that is predominantly conceptual, theoretical and 'critical' is welcomed. It also encourages articles with an experimental outlook.
The journal publishes five kinds of submissions:
quality academic articles (generally 6000-8000 words);
national and international policy reports (unspecified length);
policy research notes (2000 words maximum)
reviews (1000 words maximum)
interchanges (interviews, right of reply etc.)
Those wishing to submit an article for consideration should first read How to contribute.
Articles are: only available online independently (anonymously) peer-reviewed typeset in familiar printed journal format published in conventional volume/number/pages sequence
An annual subscription to this journal allows you to access the journal via any internet-connected computer read articles online, or save them to disk for printing later use current and past issues when you choose
E-Learning (ISSN 1741-8887) is an online-only journal published four times a year at www.wwwords.co.uk/ELEA, those four issues constituting one volume. Articles are conventionally typeset and appear as familiar journal articles; proofs are sent to the authors as PDF files; the only real difference is that articles are only available for viewing online (and can then also be saved as files and printed).

Please note that campus-wide access by institutional libraries is only available by paid subscription via the major subscription agents, or directly with the publishers. Subscription/access information can be obtained from the major subscription agents. Further details can be found at Subscription rates, or by contacting subscriptions@symposium-journals.co.uk

Technical Education in Nrpal

1. 
   
   SECONDARY EDUCATION
   The second official level of education is the lower secondary level that typically begins at age 10 in the sixth grade and lasts through the eighth grade. Earlier, between 1951 and 1971, this was known as the middle level and consisted of sixth and seventh grades. The National Education Commission in 1992 defined the objective of the lower secondary level as "preparing morally and ethically upright citizens possessed of an appropriate level of knowledge in subject matters such as Nepali language, mathematics, and science." In 1996, the total number of lower secondary schools in Nepal was 5,041 with 726,300 students and 16,821 teachers. In 1996, only 26 percent of all children aged 11-13 were enrolled at the lower secondary level with the enrollment of girls being a little less than 19 percent. In 1996, the promotion rates at this level were fairly good with over three-fourths being promoted to next level each year. Repetition rates were below 20 percent at all the three grade levels and dropout rates were below 12 percent.
   Until 1992, the secondary level, comprised of the grades 9 and 10, was the final level of schooling in Nepal. The secondary school enrollment in 1996 was 290,143 with 2,654 schools and 14,585 teachers. At the end of grade 10, a national level SLC examination is conducted by the Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) based at Sano Thimi. The net enrollment rate in secondary school in 1996 was a little over 17 percent. This implied that among all 14- and 15-year-old children only about one-sixth enjoyed the privilege of education.
   Since 1992, Nepal has started the higher secondary school education system consisting of the grades eleventh and twelfth. The Higher Secondary Education Board (HSEB) conducts the national examinations. The higher secondary level is available in specialized areas such as science, management, humanities, and education. The system is based on the system prevalent in India and is popularly known as the ten-plus-two system. In 2000, there were 657 higher secondary education institutions, a large number of which were based in relatively affluent urban areas and were managed by the private sector. The National Education Commission (NEC) had recommended the opening of such institutions in remote and rural areas and focusing on five areas of general, professional, technical, polytechnic, and Sanskrit education. However, these recommendations remained largely elusive as late as 2001. In 2000, there were 42,000 students enrolled at the plus-two level.

Education.in.Nepal

Accordingly, he commanded his government to make "primary education free of cost and accessible for all, boys and girls" (ibid.). A second annual occasion addressing education is the festival Basanta Panchami (mid February), a day dedicated to Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and learning. On that day, (Hindu) students all over the country visit temples, where they spend hours scribbling down their notes in chalk, as notes written down on this particular day will never be forgotten. While this latter day is usually celebrated and characterised by its festive mood, the National Education Day is simply being "observed" (Khadka 1997: 12), and it is a rather ambivalent affair, or even a gloomy one, and indicative for the (poor) state of education in Nepal. Some authors even find stronger expressions, as Khadka in his cynical article "Celebrating the pathetic state" (ibid.), or Shanta Dixit (2002), in her critical assessment "Education, deception, state, and society" (2002).

Further regular events when education "hits" the headlines are in March/April when class 10 students need to take the final examinations of their secondary education in order to obtain their school-leafing certificates (SLC), and again in June/July, when SLC-results are published. While the first one is an occasion of at least modest hope, the second is usually one of more or less great despair, as the number of failed students usually outnumber those who pass. While pass rates ranged between 30-36% during the last years (see SPOTLIGHT 2003), in 2004 an astonishingly "high" number of 46% students passed (see Amgai 2004a), and this rather dreadful result was celebrated as a major national achievement. Yet, this was partly due to re-introducing a "grace mark" system, when failures within a 5%-margin in a single subject were to be neglected (ibid.). Worse still, less than 10% of class 1 students reach class 10 (Dixit 2002: 193), and only less than 50% reach class 5 (HMG/UNCTN 2003: 15). These figures render the Millennium Development Goals, aiming at universal primary education for boys and girls and gender equity in secondary education by 2015 (HMG/UNCTN 2003: 19), meaningless paper declarations, ridiculing past policies and millions of dollars spent and wasted from donor agencies. Another crucial feature is that the private sector is playing an increasingly important role in the Nepalese educational "landscape". By now there are about 8,500 private schools, providing educational facilities to about 1.5 million students. These can be found all across the country, although there is a strong concentration particularly in the Kathmandu valley and in some urban centres of the Terai (HMG/MOES 2003). Private schools are usually associated with two characteristics: contributing decisively to increasing the quality of education and yet strongly criticised for charging high fees, sometimes even termed "exorbitant" (Pokharel 2003: 19).

This latter charge of turning education into a lucrative business was bound to lead to a confrontation with the Maoists, as regularly pointed out in their demands, as for instance in their early 40-point demands of 1996, stating that the "commercialisation of education should be stopped" (point 35; quoted from Thapa 2003: 394). This issue was rather forcefully addressed when the Maoist-affiliated "student organisation" (All Nepal National Free Student Union, Revolutionary, ANNFSU-R) imposed several strikes upon all types of educational institutions during December 2002 and January 2003, aiming at pressurising private schools to reduce their fees (see Dhakal 2002b, Amgai 2002d, Amgai 2004d). A settlement was reached in January 2003 with PABSON (Private and Boarding Schools Organization of Nepal), agreeing to reduce fees in its member schools by 10-30% (Amgal 2004b). Consistent with these ideas, private schools have been targeted, physically attacked, and even closed in many rural areas, and occasionally also in the Kathmandu valley.

On the other hand, Maoists have even more frequently targeted teachers and students from rural government schools by taking them hostage (Upadhyay 2004). In addition, many teachers have been approached for extortions, or have even been manslaughtered, as was the case with Mukti Nath Adhikari from Lamjung in 2002, who was stabbed and handed in front of his students, or Gyanendra Khadka who was hacked to death in Sindhupalchok in August 2003 (see Dhakal 2004a: 22). About 160 teachers from both sides have been killed, by Maoists as well as government forces, and about 3,000 have been displaced, seeking shelter either in district headquarters or in the capital (ibid.). These latter agitations have led to a petition from the side of five students submitted to the Supreme Court in February 2004, complaining that their "right to education was being violated by the string of strikes (bandh)" and appealing to the court to force political parties and student unions to stop these practices (ibid. 22). Similarly, the UN has demanded that educational institutions should be deemed "Zones of Peace" (Upadhyay 2004).

This brief introduction may suffice to show that education in Nepal has many facets. It is not only an affair between the state and its junior citizens and their parents, but it is also a highly (party) political issue, and also a business. This article addresses a number of critical issues pertaining to education. It will give a brief introduction to education policies during the last 50 years, highlighting the main objectives of these policies and critically assessing their achievements and failures. The article will identify a number of crucial features, such as low enrolment rates, high drop-out rates, and low performance in examinations, and assess their validity as indicators. In addition, it also provides a "mapping" of gender and regional disparities at a national level, based on data from the Ministry of Education (for the 1990s), supplemented by unpublished district-level data (for Jhapa district).

The article then addresses the lack of achievement, identifying the "culprits" and political battlefields. It also provides some suggestions for policies, by (re-) considering "stakeholders" and their potential roles. Educational Policies in Nepal: A Brief Outline Education lies at the core of human development. As such, it is also a fundamental human right and thus, providing education to its citizens needs to be a focus of government activities all across the world, irrespective of the state of development. In addition, many international agencies, particularly UNESCO and UNICEF have drafted global educational agendas, as for instance during the world conference on "Education For All" held in Jomtien (Thailand) in 1990. There, all member states--including Nepal--have agreed upon the need to translate these international agendas into national policies. A more recent framework is the "Millennium Declaration", signed in 2000 and now synthesised into the "Millennium Development Goals" (HMG/UNCTN 2003: 1).

This alms to "achieve universal primary education" and to "ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary education" (ibid: 15). At the same time, Nepal's country report states that "given the current rate of progress [.. ] it is unlikely that Nepal will achieve universal access to primary education by 2015" (ibid.). Thus, it is obvious that there still exist vast gaps between "paper declarations" and social realities in many fields, and education is certainly among the most blatant examples. In Nepal, educational policies have been designed for the past 50 years, and the need for providing universal education has been targeted in virtually each of these policies. Yet, the "deadlines" for...NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.More articles from Contributions to Nepalese StudiesFamily change in Nepal: evidence from Western Chitwan.(Report), July 01, 2006The Svanti festival: victory over death and the renewal of the ritual ..., July 01, 2006Escalating inequality in South Asia: a challenge to political managers..., July 01, 2006Women in armed conflict: lessons to be learnt from Telangana people's ..., July 01, 2006Joshi, Jibgar. 2006. Regional Strategies for Sustainable Development i..., July 01, 2006Looking for additional articles?Search our database of over 3 million articles.Looking for more in-depth information on this industry?Search our complete database of Industry & Market reports by text, subject, publication name or publication date.About GoliathWhether you're looking for sales prospects, competitive information, company analysis or best practices in managing your organization, Goliath can help you meet your business needs. Our extensive business information databases empower business professionals with both the breadth and depth of credible, authoritative information they need to support their business goals. Whether it be strategic planning, sales prospecting, company research or defining management best practices - Goliath is your leading source for accurate information.
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