Asst. Prof. Rojan Baniya, Kathmandu University School of Management

In the context of the vigor that Nepal experiences at the present time, a direction should be offered to the future pillars of Nepal. I’m talking here about reorienting education for management students. Not many years ago when I was a fresh MBA graduate, my career aspiration was limited to some commercial banks and  few multinational companies. I did not think beyond that. Despite a limited perspective, MBA instilled in me some sparks of entrepreneurship and desire to begin a business. I could not dare to go with the sparks as things are easier said than done and realities outside the classroom settings seemed unbeatable. Thus, entrepreneurship sparks died in between and like me, most of my friends too, opted for an easy way out- a secured and financially rewarding job in a reputed institution.

The trends seem same now when I stand in a position of academic and teach to MBA students in a premier management school. Interestingly, I do not see lack of vigor, vision and passion among these young management futures. Each one of them holds an ability to build the country and make Nepal better. Nevertheless, they still seem to be opting for a job in organizations, yes more different types of organization than before. This presents a big challenge as well as an immense opportunity for management schools that look towards making a long-lasting impact on the nation building process.

Of all the challenges, the one I regard as the foremost in this context is our dependency on academic materials- text books, subject matters, case studies and most important of all researches- that are designed and developed in the Western countries. The concepts, theories and researches of the West do hold a significance and help future managers and leaders in developing knowledge but they also limit their abilities to face and deal with uniqueness of managerial problems and entrepreneurship problems that exist in Nepal.

It is evident from the recent earthquake devastation that Nepali youth do not lack dedication, hard-working attitude and most importantly desire to help other Nepali people in need irrespective of geographical location, castes, income status and education. They are eager to be a partner in nation building. Management students are part of that youth who possess both aptitude and attitude for it.

It is time for management schools to re-direct their vigor towards an area that matters in the context of Nepal. It is high time now that Nepal needs to be known for its original, creative and innovative start-ups rather than Mt. Everest and Gautam Buddha and Brave Gurkha Soldiers. Therefore, I suggest as an academic the inclusion of courses that actually help management students in implementing their dreams of nation building. This can be done by bringing contextually related courses to provide right direction.

One course that I can think of in this context is Agro-tourism. It is a simple concept of merging agriculture with tourism. In Agro-tourism, tourists see and participate in traditional agricultural practices without destroying the ecosystems, the host bases. One can always argue agriculture and tourism are distinct from management but management blends with all areas of work and these are the areas that Nepal can always develop and take pride in. The integration of technicalities of agriculture and tourism and know-how of management will help establish agro-tourism as well. This will be a sustainable business for the country with opportunity of employments to Nepali people. Additionally, management aspirants will have more faith in themselves in paving a new path rather than walking in a walked path. Management schools and academics like me will have more sense of duty and inner satisfaction in being able to be guide such management aspirants.

To sum up, Agro-tourism as a course is one idea of a course among all other potential courses that can be thought of as being directly related to the context of Nepal’s uniqueness in terms of external environment. It is time for management schools, academics and management students to come out of their comfort zone and contribute significantly to national building with innovative yet contextually relevant courses. This could be a critical step for management schools in their journey of nation building.