ARTICLE PUBLICATIONS ON STUDENTS' QUALITY CIRCLES IN LOCAL NEWS PAPERS/ MAGAZINES
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Saujan Basnet, Pinnacle Scholars’ Academy, Kalanki, Kathmandu
(Unpublished article by a student of Class 10, received by QUEST-Nepal on 5th January 2010.
Students Quality Circle:
SQC has proved to be an important part for the overall development of students and its is a must in the context of country like Nepal
To succeed in life a person must possess many qualities. These all qualities are not inborn but need to be developed slowly as earlier as possible in the journey of life. It is students’ quality circle that assists in making total quality person.
Why to be a total quality person? Well living in this post-modern era the time has already arrived where everything must be tested, re-tested and again be tested to know its original quality life we are not able to build any sorts of quality amongst us then there remains no meaning for our life. To get success at every step is very hard work but the time has also approached where we are not able to do anything without success. Not only about success after being a TQP a person also realizes that he has discovered his true spirit which was hidden somewhere that he has dared and succeeded to discover it. It also teaches to be passionate and gain strong belief for him. He also gets the energy to accomplish even the most difficult task and thus be action oriented, enormous bonding power to bond with everyone, discipline, friendliness, team spirit and mastery of communication. Thus, SQC helps to make a ordinary being a TQP in life teaching all these skills in them. Way back in 2007, when I was in grade 8, I got a golden opportunity to participate the 3rd national convention on students’ quality circle. I was totally blank about SQC as we had got no concept of what it was and why it was. We were told that it’s for the overall development of a student. I got participated in the 3rd national convention at the debate competition where the topic was “quality creates value" which was entirely a new topic for us. There was much nervousness because we had being participating in a national level competition for the first time. Later on as we marched on, we got more knowledge about SQC and then we were much dedicated to it.
As a scholar of pinnacle scholars' academy, I got involved in SQC from 2007 and went on exploring new qualities inside me. After being participant in the 3rd national convention we got more knowledge about SQC and started out our own QC circle named as :'' The Gallant Scholars" through the collective efforts of my friends Ashes, Roman, Bidhan, Suyog, Abinash, Parbat, Saujan Gyawali, Susil and me myself. We got guidance from Mr. Ravi bhattarai and Mr.rampukar sah, different guides and much inspiring our principal Mr.Nimiraj Ghimire. Keynote addresses of different renowned personalities like Mr.jagdish Gandhi, Mrs.vineeta Kamran provided us more knowledge about SQC. Besides many interactive programmes were organized in school with the guidance of our facilitator Mr. Rampukar Sah. In due course of time we also encouraged many students to be participated in SQC. we also carried out total of 3 studies in the time course of our circle, where we took “problems faced by teenagers” as the 1st case study ,”Bullying” as 2nd and “poor English environment” as the 3rd. After carrying out all these works we found new boost of energy among ourselves and were also developing the qualities of TQP gradually.
Further SQC has also given some unforgettable moments such as we got the golden opportunity to be the 1st SQC circle in the whole school and were given respect by many students and although we got out of QC circle we handed the group to new students. Not only this SQC has also provided us a platform to express the views and opinions clearly, solve our problem by our own methods without being dependent on anyone. It also has taught us to be punctual, display skills without hesitation, interact with students of different regions, leadership qualities, self-confidence was also developed that taught us to the team spirit too. Thus, SQC has proved to be an important part for the overall development of students and its is a must in the context of country like Nepal where the quality of education must be maintained.
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Pioneeer Silver Jubilee Smarika 2066,10th April,2010
Nirajan Adhikari
Principal, Heartland Children Academy, Bafal, kathmandu
Treasurer and Cordiator,EMA committee- QUEST Nepal, Bagbazar, kathmandu
Transforming a Child into a Total Quality Person
When Uttam Adhikari, the senior teacher of PEBS called me on behalf of the school family, giving the happy news about celebrating silver jubilee of the school, I was spellbound and emotionally instable hearing such a great festival going to be organized in the school. It was the matter of great pleasure and proud to recall Pioneer and its journey of 25 years and all my childhood, student life and my cordial relations with the school up to now. I was overwhelmed much being the student of first batch (2052) of this school, having many wonderful experience of reading, playing and doing may creative things in my school life.. It might be so to me because I am working in the school with the pure vision of providing Total Quality Education to my dear children as my always respectable and memorable teaches did to me in my schooling.
As I am working as an academician in the field of “Total Quality Management in Education” formally, I am writing about quality education, its significance and our role in shaping the future of the children/students.
Total Quality Education (TQE)
There is no doubt that each and every schools and colleges in Nepal have the common slogan of quality education. But we are already late to redefine quality education according to the global need of present generation. We have accepted that the base of national development is education but it is not enough in the present context. It is Total Quality Education (TQE) which is the strong base for the development of the nation. We define quality education in terms of academic excellence only which is insufficient. TQE is the integration of academic excellence, behavior excellence, psycho-social excellence, Moral excellence and spiritual excellence. When our children are excelled academically, behaviorally, psycho-socially, morally and spiritually in right proportions through balanced and right education, then our children can be excellent in their life making process rather then certificate building process. Such children are called Total Quality People (TQP). Man produced by TQE will be a complete human being who is the man of both mind and heart. In another word, when a man is taught to act with both mind and heart, he/she becomes human, a complete human, who is absolutely Total Quality Person,(TQP). TQE prepares children of quality mindset. Children /students are made to practice quality from their young age, so that quality becomes their habit and as a result they grow with quality mindset which helps them perform the task in the different fields of their profession with high quality.
Total Quality Person(TQP)
Total Quality Person is not the matter of chance but it is our conscious and continuous effort to groom them. Students need to be caught at their young age when their mind is tender and highly impressionable. Children of young age can learn fast and adopt the things taught to then without any confusion. It is the same time, we have to implant the concept of quality work and quality life which helps them set those things into their mind. This approach helps our children to shape them according to the aim of Total Quality Education.
Nowadays, our children are smarter and less good. This indicates that today's students work more with their mind and less with their heart because smartness is the outcome of mind and goodness is that of heart. Total Quality Person works with both mind and heart.
Smartness implies competitiveness and excelling over others which is over directed by mind whereas goodness implies serving others which is directed by our heart. The whole philosophy of Total Quality Education and Total Quality Person is not an abstract idealistic speculation but it is rooted in concrete here and now kind of pragmatism, it is not only just like other academic kind of statement repeated stereo typically but this approach is practiced well and the output has beam tasted in the schools by the teachers, principals and academicians who have adopted this. It is not impossible, may be difficult. It is the matter of our decision, determination and commitment which can overcome all the difficulties.
Students Quality Circle (SQC)
To concretize the dream of Total Quality Person, Student Quality Circle is the tool we use in the schools among the students. SQC is a team of four to ten students who work together to identify,analize and solve their common reoccurring problems in their own using specific scientific tools and techniques for the development of their personality. Students work voluntarily in their convenient time in and outside the school with their problems using their technical, human and conceptual skills. The short term goal of their activities is to solve their problem and get rid of problem phobia. In long term, in the course of solving their problems, they develop their overall personality. They learn how to be both good and smart, how to develop positive outlook, how to manage their time, emotion and behaviors, how to deal with friends, seniors, juniors and society as a whole, how to develop self confidence and leadership ability, how to improve communication skills, how to be more creative and analytical and so many other traits needed to be a complete human being who can face all the challenges of life.
How should be a modern school?
Is school only a four walls? Is school only a place to teach the students and feed their mind with the curriculums? Is it sufficient for the schools just to produce students with high academic excellence? The answer to these genuine questions drags us towards the conceptual periphery of a modern school.
School is physically four walls but there is the future inside. We prepare the future of our dear children within those walls. Modern school should be the lighthouse of a society. They are all made prepared to enlighten the society in the school. Feeding only the curriculums to the students is similar to feeding the today's soft chickens up to certain days and sells it in the market when they attain the maximum weight. Are schools producing future citizens or the soft chickens? Undoubtedly modern schools should work to prepare not only the future state citizens but the global citizen for the global village.
Modern school should impart education which makes our students learn about social justice, sustainable development, interdependence, human rights, conflict resolutions, skills and altitudes of tolerance, enlightenment, empathy and a less insular view of the world. The complex historical, political and economic factors need to be discussed with open mind and heart in the school for the global understanding of the students.
Modern school bears the courage to initiate and implement the innovative educational programs, scientific tools and technology to meet the ever growing demands of the people and the need of the society. Transformation is essential for schools to face the challenges and go ahead for the betterment eeventually transforming a child in to a Total Quality Person.
Conclusion
It is my great privilege to get an opportunity to share my ideas and opinions through this article in the auspicious occasion of Silver jubilee of my school. I want to express my best wishes for the betterment of this school adopting all the new approaches in education to present itself as a different institution not only in the distinct but nationally.
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Republica,27 November 2009
Future of Our Nation is in Students’ Quality Circle
Lekhnath S Pathak,
Secretary, QUEST-Nepal & Lecturer, Central Department of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University
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This might sound just like any other academic kind of statement that many a time overstates. Or the oft repeated stereotypically clichéd ‘children are the future of our nation’ which actually means nothing at all. But Students’ Quality Circle has the power to translate this dream into reality. The whole philosophy of this approach is rooted in concrete here-and-now kind of pragmatism rather than abstract idealistic speculations. SQC movement has a vision of producing citizens who are SMART and GOOD. Smartness implies competitiveness and excelling over others whereas goodness implies serving others. Practitioners of SQC know of all this. But for someone new to this movement, it might be worth telling how it works.
Like minded students of a particular class in a school form a group, what we call circle. The term ‘circle’ is important. In linearity there is somebody ahead and someone behind the one who is ahead. In circularity, there is no first and last. Everyone is equal. The first lesson students learn (without being explicitly taught, of course) is that everyone is equal. The lesson of respect to human rights and equity begins from here.
The circle sits down together to identify problems of and on their own. This is done by using the technique of brainstorming. Be it whether the teacher is too strict, or the seniors bully juniors, or the school premise is dirty, or there is no one to guide with homework at home, or the parents quarrel or TV as a nuisance to study are all problems that irk students at home or in the school. This is an easy way to start, as anyone can talk about the problems around oneself. Ironically, this does not work with adults. What adults learn is to hide their own problems rather than share in a group. Children are yet to fall into this trap. So it’s useful to teach them early that it’s a good thing to talk about your own problem. It’s important that children take up only that problem which they can solve on their own initiative and which is under their control, not the one which is beyond their control to intervene and solve.
It’s not easy to solve all the problems which have been identified and listed. So the problems have to be narrowed down. The problems are voted and the one which gets highest votes becomes the common problem of the entire group. This is democracy at work. They learn the way of building a consensus and working at a common problem unanimously. This is exactly what adults strive at in many circumstances but end up in strife.
Now it’s time to get things done. Solve the problem, that is. The students get down to identify the causes which have led to the problem. The causes may be within their control to check or outside their control. All the causes are identified and root causes targeted – the causes when removed will minimize or reduce the problem. This is done by using brainstorming, survey, research and is presented using Ishikawa or cause-and-effect diagram.
In the next stage they think of the countermeasures which will reduce or remove the problem. Again the research cycles of brainstorming, incubating the ideas, more research begins till they come out with and exhaust the possibilities available. And set down to implement the countermeasures. This may be done by undertaking different activities like raising the awareness about the problem and intervening on their own. The process does not stop at merely implementing the solutions or countermeasure to the problems. It starts another cycle of cross checking as how much the problem has been minimized as a result of implementing the countermeasures. This completes the cycle of problem solving.
One cycle ends finally, with making a presentation of the entire activity in 15 minutes. The presentation is done using complete illustration of the work done. The presentation highlights also the tangible and intangible benefits children got out of the whole enterprise. Besides having solved the problem they undertook to solve, the benefits include the spirit of team work developed, learning to respect others’ views and listening to others, taking initiative, becoming responsible, learning about lateral and creative thinking, developing communicative skills, learning the basics of research and scientific way of problem solving, leadership skills, confidence building, public speaking and overall developing of an all rounded personality. All these and many more life skills develop naturally. That the problem gets solved is merely a by-product of this whole process, the end-product is the evolution of a child into a complete human being.
If we can get SQC done in all the schools of Nepal in each and every corner of the country, it won’t take us long to have a generation of citizens who will be equipped to take up any problem of the country and society on their own and solve them in such a way that it won’t recur again. Once this movement succeeds in schools, this will go up to colleges and universities and finally to different spheres of professions. So instead of merely Students’ Quality Circles, we will be able talk about Youths’ Quality Circles, Women’s Quality Circles, Politicians’ Quality Circles, Teachers’ Quality Circles, Doctors’ Quality Circles, Engineers’ Quality Circles or Managers’ Quality Circles. Likewise Quality Circles in all the spheres’ of our activities.
And it’s not impossible to it make happen. In Nepal, this movement is led by Prof. Dinesh Chapagain who has a committed team under QUEST-Nepal and which organizes Students’ Quality Circle Convention every year which we are celebrating this year in Galaxy Public School on November 26-27 and next Year in 2010 we are bracing up to organize 13th International Convention in Nepal. SQC spirit is also reflected in the working spirit of QUEST-Nepal in collaborating as a team with likeminded organizations like PABSON, NPABSON, NJS, FNCCI, NQPCN and NELTA. We are also looking forward to work together with other organizations and institutions who are working in the areas related to children and education. SQC needs to become a national reality if we think of creating a real New Nepal.
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Kantipur, 26 November 2009
सांच्चिकै नयाँ नेपाल बनाउन छ भने विद्यार्थी गुणीय चक्रको विकास गरौं
लेखनाथ शर्मा पाठक
उप-प्राध्यापक, भाषाविज्ञान केन्द्रीय विभाग, त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय तथा सचिव, क्वेस्ट-नेपाल
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देश अहिले एक किसिमको अकर्मण्यताको स्थितिबाट गुज्रिरहेको छ। हाम्रा नेताहरू अत्यन्त राम्रा भावनाका साथ देश निर्माणमा लागि रहेका छन तर गर्न सकिरहेका छैनन। देशमा कुनै अप्रिय घटना घटेपछि छानबिन समिति गठन गरेर सबैलाई चित्त बुझ्ने खालको निष्कर्ष निकाल्ने कुरा होस वा कुनै आयोगले तयार पारेको रिपोर्टका सुझावहरू कार्यान्वयन गर्ने प्रकृया होस। वा हालको संविधान निर्माणमा देखिएको गतिरोधबाट सफलतापूर्वक निकास पाउने खालका उपायका कुरा हउन। यस्ता अनेकौं प्रकारका राष्ट्रिय, सामाजिक, आर्थिक, भाषिक, लैंगिक, शैक्षिक समस्या जस्ता कैयों विषयहरूमा हामी अल्झिएका छौं र यी सब समस्याबाट सजिलै पार पाईहाल्ने कुनैपनि सशक्त उपायहरू हामीसंग छैनन्।
आज हामीलाई यस्तो नागरिक तथा जनशक्तिको खाँचो छ जस्ले आफ्ना वरिपरी भएका समस्याहरूको आफ्नै पहलद्वारा समाधान निकाल्न सक्ने ईच्छा शक्ति र क्षमता प्रदर्शन गर्न सकोस। यस्तो नागरिक जुन चतुर र असल दुवै होस। चतुरले आफुलाई अरु भन्दा अब्बल बनाउँ छ। यस्ता नागरिक हामीलाई अन्य पक्षसंग आफ्नो देश, समाज, संस्थाको लागि सफलता पूर्वक डील गरेर आफ्नो पक्षमा परिणाम ल्याउनको लागि चाहिन्छ भने असल नागरिक हामीलाई देशसेवा, समाजसेवा गरेर आफ्नो गाऊँठाऊँलाई सुधार गरी त्यहाँ आफ्नो योगदान गरेर त्यसलाई समुन्नत बनाउनका लागि चाहिन्छ। उदाहरणस्वरुप भन्दा डा.भगवान कोइराला, डा. सन्दुक रुइत र महावीर पुन जस्ता व्यक्ति जस्ले आफ्नो नेतृत्व, व्यक्तित्व र क्षमताको भरमा हाम्रो समाजलाई विशिष्ट योगदान पुर्यादउँदै आएका छन्। हुन त यी व्यक्ति कुनै यस्तो कार्यक्रम मार्फत नभई स्वयंबाट मार्गनिर्देशित भएर यहाँसम्म पुगेका हुन तर यस्ता व्यक्तित्व संधै र सहजै बन्दैनन्। यस्तो जनशक्ति उत्पादन गर्न सक्ने कुनै राष्ट्रिय कार्यक्रम वा शैक्षिक व्यवस्था हामीसंग हालसम्म स्थापित भएको छैन। र हाम्रो शैक्षिक व्यवस्थाले विद्यार्थीमा ज्ञान त प्रचुर भरी दिन्छ तर जीवनमा आईपर्ने समस्यासंग पार पाउन सिकाउँदैन। यस्तै पृष्ठभूमिमा झण्डै एक दशक अघि प्राध्यापक दिनेश चापागाईंको अगुवाईमा ‘विद्यार्थीहरूको व्यक्तित्व विकासका लागि शिक्षामा गुणीय चक्र-नेपाल’ छोटकरीमा, क्वेस्ट-नेपालको जन्म भयो। र विगत पाँच वर्षदेखी यसले विभिन्न विद्यालयहरूसंग समन्वय गरेर विद्यार्थी गुणीय चक्रको राष्ट्रिय सन्मेलन आयोजना गर्दै आएको छ। यस पटकको पाचौं राष्ट्रिय सम्मेलन मंसिर ११ -१३ मा ग्यालेक्सी पब्लिक स्कूलले गर्दैछ जस्मा देशका विभिन्न भागबाट आएका सत्तरीवटा जति विद्यालयका झण्डै हजार भन्दा बढी विद्यार्थीहरूले वैज्ञानिक पध्दतिद्वारा आफ्ना वरिपरी भएका र आफूसंग सरोकार राख्नेखालका विभिन्न समस्यको समाधान कसरी गर्न सकिन्छ भनेर आफूले सम्पन्न गरेका समस्या समाधानका ठोस केस स्टडीहरू प्रस्तुत गर्दैछन्। यस्तो सम्मेलन विगतमा काठमान्डु विश्विद्यालय हाई स्कूल, डिएभि सुशील केडिया विश्वभारती स्कूल, लिटिल एन्जेल्स् तथा सेन्ट जेभियर स्कूलले सम्पन्न गरी सकेका छन।
विद्यार्थी गुणीय चक्र के हो त? सर्वप्रथम त यसको नामाकरणलाई हेरौं। ‘गुणस्तर’ ले एक प्रकारको सीमा तोकेको हुन्छ भने ‘गुणीय’ले क्रमिक सुधार जनाउँछ। र चक्र भन्नाले समानता र समदुरी जनाउँ छ। सिधा रेखामा कोही अघि कोही पछि हुन्छन भने चक्रमा केन्द्रबाट सबै बराबरको दुरीमा हुन्छन। यसले कोही सानो वा ठूलो नभएर सबै बराबर र उत्तिकै महत्वपूर्ण हुन भन्ने जनाउँछ। यसको सुन्दर पक्ष भनेकै यही हो। जुन समतामुलक समाजको हामी परिकल्पना गरिरहेका छौं त्यो कोरा भाषण वा सिध्दान्तका कुरा गरेर प्राप्त हुनेवाला छैन। साना कलिला विद्यार्थीलाई यसको अभ्यास गर्न सिकाएर मात्रै हुन्छ।
अब यसले काम कसरी गर्छ त? यस गतिविधिमा विद्यार्थीहरूको ४ देखी १० जना सम्मको समूह हुन्छ, जुन विद्यार्थी आफैले बनाउँछन। उनीहरूलाई आफ्ना वरीपरी भएका समस्याको वैज्ञानिक अनुसन्धानात्मक विधि प्रयोग गरेर हल गर्न सिकाइन्छ। यसमा सर्वप्रथम विद्यार्थीहरूले आफ्ना समस्या पहिल्याउँछन। ती समस्याहरू स्कूल वा घरसंग सम्बन्धित हुन सक्छन जस्तै स्कूलमा प्राङगण फोहर हुने, विद्यार्थीहरू छाडा कुरा बोल्ने, ठूला कक्षाकाले साना कक्षाकालाई हेप्ने, धम्क्याउने आदि र घरमा भएका समस्यामध्ये अत्यधिक टिभी हेर्ने, बाउआमाको झगडाले गर्दा केटाकेटीको पढाईमा असर पर्ने आदि जस्ता समस्या ब्रेनस्टर्मिङको तरिका प्रयोग गरेर पहिल्याउँछन, त्यसपछि समूहका प्रत्येक सदस्यले यसरी जम्मा भएका समस्याहरूलाई मत दिएर जुन समस्याले सबभन्दा बढी मत पाउँछ त्यसलाई त्यस समूहको साझा समस्या मानेर अन्य वैज्ञानिक विधि जस्तै चेकशिट, हिस्टोग्राम, बार डाइग्राम, फ्लो चार्ट्, परेटो डाइग्राम, ईशीकावा (कज एण्ड ईफेक्ट वा फिशबोन) डाईग्राम, स्क्याटर डाइग्राम आदि प्रयोग गरेर समस्याको गहिराईमा पुगेर तिनका कारण र निवारण निर्धारण गर्छन र आफूले अध्ययन गरेको समस्याको समाधान निकाल्छन। समाधानलाई कार्यान्वयन गरे पछि त्यसको न्यूनिकरण भएको तुलनात्मक अध्ययन गरेर मापन गर्छन र यसको असरको मूल्याङकन गर्छन। यसरी समस्या समाधानको एक चक्र पूरा गरी सके पछि फेरी अर्को समस्या र अर्को चक्र आरम्भ हुन्छ। समस्या समाधानको यस्तो प्रक्रियाबाट विद्यार्थीले व्यक्तित्व विकास र नेतृत्व क्षमताको विकास गर्छन। यसबाट विद्यार्थीले हचुवाको भरमा समस्याको समाधान नखोजी वैज्ञानिक विधि अपनाउन, समूहमा मिलेर अर्काको विचारको कदर गर्दै सुमधुर सम्बन्ध कायम गर्न, रचनात्मक सोचको विकास गर्न, आत्मविश्वास विकास गर्न, सार्वजिनक रुपमा आफ्ना कुराहरू राख्न र त्यसको प्रभावकारी सम्प्रेषण गर्ने जस्ता शिपहरू सिक्छन। समस्या समाधान त यस प्रकृयाको साधन मात्र हो, साध्य त बच्चालाई चतुर र असल बनाई एक सम्पूर्ण मानवको रुपमा योग्य र असल नागरिक निर्माण गर्नु हो। क्वेस्ट नेपालले यो कार्यक्रम देशका सम्पूर्ण विद्यालयहरुमा प्याब्सन, एन-प्याब्सन, शिक्षा मन्त्रालय, नेल्टा, नेपाल उद्योग वाणिज्य महासंघ, स्थानिय तथा राष्ट्रीय मिडिया, शिक्षा, उत्पादन र वालवालिकासंग सरोकार राख्ने सम्पूर्ण संघ संस्थासंग मिलेर देश निर्माणमा सहयोग पुर्या उने सक्षम जनशक्ति देशका सम्पूर्ण भागबाट उत्पादन गर्ने लक्ष लिएको छ र हामी सबैको साझा प्रयास आवश्यक छ।
