Prithivi Narayan Campus

Prithvi Narayan Campus
पृथ्वीनारायण क्याम्पस

Type	Public co-educational
Established	1960
Academic staff	549[1]
Students	16,069[1]
Location	Pokhara, Kaski, Nepal Coordinates: 28°14′22″N 83°59′25″E / 28.239483°N 83.990192°E
Campus	Urban, 254.2 acres[2]
Colors
Affiliations	Tribhuvan University
Website	http://pncampus.edu.np

Prithvi Narayan Multiple Campus (PNC) (more colloquially : P. N. Campus, Nepali: पृथ्वीनारायण बहुमुखी क्याम्पस) is a public co-educational institution located in the northern part of the Pokhara city and is one of the largest campuses affiliated to the Tribhuvan University.^[3] The institution offers undergraduate and graduate (masters & doctorate) programs. It is named after the king Prithvi Narayan Shah credited for the unification of Nepal in its modern form.

History

The campus, initially named Prithvi Narayan College, was established in Sept. 1, 1960 as the first community college of the Kaski district for post secondary education as a local effort. In its initial years the classes were conducted in Ratna Rajya Laxmi High School. In 1961 it was granted public land in Bhimkali Patan, Bagar where it currently exists.^[4] Regarded as one of the largest affiliate campuses of Tribhuvan University (TU) it is a major center for post secondary education in the western region of the country.^[5]

The campus is regarded as one of the important educational institutions in the country and receives government grants distributed through the TU. In accordance with the TU decentralization act of 1998 the campus elected a management committee in Sept. 1999 which handles tasks such as construction of physical infra-structure, making rules, working plan and economic policies and a sub committee under the management committee looks after every day affairs of the campus. The campus is spread over 35 hectares along on the banks of the Seti Gandaki River.^[6] The campus buildings occupy only a part of this area; most of the land owned is open. In 2006, UNDP Global Environmental funded a project to develop this open space as Green Space Park, where university students could learn about environmental conservation and demonstrate the use of open space to serve the leisure and recreational needs of the growing urban population of Pokhara.^[7] The campus is regarded as one of the most picturesque in the country.

Academics

There are altogether 28 departments in the campus. Being a public educational institution, the fees are heavily subsidized by the government. Current students in the campus are from the Pokhara city as well as from surrounding areas of Kaski district, Baglung, Mustang, Manang, Tanahu, Palpa, Syangja, Lamjung, Gorkha, and mostly from western region of the country.^[2]

Programs

The undergraduate is the most popular program with bachelors and intermediate level, however, the later has been scrapped from the academic session of 2010. The post graduate level comprises Masters and Doctorate programs. Five different faculties are identified: Science, Law, Humanities, Education, and Management. The campus is introducing newer subjects in order to fulfill the requirements to upgrade itself into a full-fledged university.^[8]

Sciences

The campus has one Institute of Science and Technology affiliated to the TU that oversees 6 departments of the science program. The science program started with proficiency certificate level in Science (I. Sc.) in 1968 on the subjects: Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. The two year Bachelor's level in Science (B. Sc.) was started 1987 on the subjects Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Zoology, Botany and Statistics. The bachelor's level was transformed into 3 years program in 1998 and as of 2010 the I. Sc. program has been discontinued in accordance with the TU guidelines. The campus has separate buildings for theoretical and laboratory classes.

Chemistry

The department offers undergraduate degree in Chemistry. It started by introducing intermediate level program (called Proficiency Certificate Level) in August, 1962. Intermediate Sciences Program has been removed from TU affiliation beginning July, 2010, and is now a part of school of education. Bachelor’s Degree: The bachelor's degree in science, as part of the Institute of Science and Technology, was started in 1987. Chemistry is offered for both the physical and the biological groups. The traditional classification of biological group is one where students take one or more courses in zoology, botany or microbiology and physical group is one in which students take one or more courses in mathematics, physics or statistics. In the third year the students have options to select one of the subjects as a major subject given the prerequisites are fulfilled.^[9] The examination of each course is a written examination conducted TU wide of three hours duration for each subject. The laboratory examination is of six hours duration. The selected subject in the third year is the specialized subject for further studies such as the master's degree program in Chemistry, if it is chosen as the subject of specialization.

Physics

The department offers both undergraduate and graduate studies in Physics. The organization of the undergraduate physics program is similar to the undergraduate (B. Sc.) program in Chemistry. Students with science background in high school (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics) are eligible to apply for the undergraduate Physics program and accepted student are classified as Physical Science group and as such must also take courses in Mathematics for at least two years with two more courses in Chemistry or Statistics. Graduate Program: The two years' Masters program in Physics was started in 2008 and enrolls a maximum of 40 students each year. The students are admitted through a common TU wide entrance examination.

Mathematics

The department offers both undergraduate (B. Sc.) and graduate degrees (M. Sc.) in Mathematics.

Biology

The Biology Department was established in 1968 and currently offers undergraduate degrees in three major branches Botany, Zoology and Microbiology. Separate Botany and Zoology department were created in 1998 with launching of the B. Sc. program and the Microbiology program started in 2010.

Law

Major Law Class is conducted by P.N. Campus. The laws of Nepal to international level is held by this institute. The Students from foreign can also attend their own country's law class in their own national language.

Humanities (Arts) & Education

English Humanities and Arts classes are taught only in English and Nepali languagein this campus because students are very less in this faculty.

Nepali

History The Campus is named after Prithvi Narayan Shah the fearest Gurkha Emperor of the world.

Management (Commerce)

Management (also called Commerce) classes in September 1969 with eleven students in the first year of Intermediate in Commerce program. Undergraduate classes offering a bachelor's degree in commerce began in 1976 with 25 students. In 1990 the campus started offering master's degree in Commerce. Unlike the heavily subsidized intermediate and bachelor's degree program, the masters program is supported by student fee.

Free Student's Union

The TU law requires its affiliate campuses to allow the formation of democratic Free Student Union(s) mandated with handling extra curricular activities of the campus and matters related to student affairs. Though the student union was conceived as an organization to be the direct representatives of students, however, their activities are more inclined towards the political spectrum of the country and as such they are student wing of country's political parties, therefore also called student political parties. The major student parties are Nepal Student Union, All Nepal National Free Students Union and All Nepal National Independent Students' Union (Revolutionary) and participate in the elections to form the student union council of the campus that has a term of 2 years. All Nepal National Free Students Union, a student wing of CPN(UML) currently holds a majority of seats in the student union council and have been winning the elections successively since the establishment of free student union in 1969. Violent clashes between different student political parties is common, they are also frequently accused of engaging in vandalizing the campus property over seemingly trivial matters especially during elections.^[10]

Sports

The campus has substantial land space that is utilized for major tournaments held in Pokhara. Free student union organizes annual sports event between different departments and academic levels. The campus has two Volleyball Courts, two Basketball Courts, Table Tennis & Lawn Tennis Courts, facilities for martial arts (tae-kwon-do, wushu, and karate), a cricket pitch and a football field. Football, Karate, Ice hockey, Golf and Cricket are the major sports held by this campus.

Annapurna Natural History Museum

The Annapurna Natural History Museum is one of the main feature in the PNC that displays the natural history of the Kaski district and has an amazing collection of butterflies, insects, birds and stuffed and sculpted models of wildlife found in the western region of Nepal.^[11] The museum opens from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm from Sunday to Thursday and from 9:00 am to 12:45 pm on Fridays and the entry is free.

Hostel

There are four hostels within the PNC (Prithvi Narayan Campus) premises which are categorized as Science Hostel (for males majoring in subjects classified as science), Girls’ Hostel (for unmarried female students), Ladies’ Hostel (for married female students) and Gents’ Hostel (for males) and can accommodate a total of 200 students. The meals program in the hostel is run on a cooperative basis by the students. A hostel-committee under Free Student's Union decides allocation of hostel facilities to the students based on their financial status, geographical remoteness of their home district, etc. However, there are constant allegations that students with political contacts get selected preferentially and many such occupants do not vacate even after completion of their studies.

Housing

The campus has its own housing quarters located within the campus premises for its employees. Most non-local students live off campus in rental houses near the campus. Bagar, Adhikari Tole, Deep, Fulbari, Nadipur, are some of the areas popular among students for rental houses.

References

1. "Prez unveils golden jubilee pillar of PN Campus". The Himalayan Times (Kathmandu, Nepal). RSS. 8 October 2010.
2. Baral, Keshar J. (2005). "Effectiveness of Master Program: A case study of Prithvi Narayan Campus, T.U., Pokhara". Tribhuvan University Journal (Research Division of Tribhuvan University Kathmandu, Nepal) 25 (1): 91–110.
3. Tribhuvan University Planning Division. "Affiliated Campuses/Colleges under Tribhuvan University: FY 2067/68" (PDF). Tribhuvan University.
4. Vir, Dharam (1988). "The Problem and its Context". Education and Polity in Nepal: An Asian Experiment. New Delhi, India: Northern Book Centre. pp. 18–19. ISBN 81-85119-39-2.
5. Danske Universiteter. "Building Stronger Universities Platform for Stability, Democracy & Rights: Description, Activity Plan and Budget" (PDF).
6. Giri, Padam; Shrestha, Krishna; Parajuli, Bishwo Kallyan; Suvedi, Murari. "Citizen Perceptions of Green Space Park in Pokhara, Nepal" (PDF). Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
7. The GEF Small Grants Programme (2006). "Environmental Stewardship and Green Space Development: Student Driven Demonstration Project at P.N. Campus, Pokhara (NEP/OP3/1/06/14)".
8. Gorkhapatra Correspondent (14 Dec 2008). "Prithvi Narayan Campus to be converted into university". गोरखापत्र: The Rising Nepal.
9. "Tribhuvan University, B.Sc. Syllabus". 1997.
10. Koirala, Kosh Raj (29 March 2009). "Dispute disrupts vote counting at TU campus, ANNFSU announces protest in Pokhara". República (Kirtipur).
11. Smith, Colin (1989). Butterflies of Nepal (Central Himalaya): a colour field guide including all the 614 species recorded up-to-date. Bangkok, Thailand: Tecpress Service. p. 351. ISBN 9789748684932.