TPP-Nepal project’s cooperation gave a kick-off to the new open and distance learning programmes

The Teacher Preparation Programme through ODL Mode for Enhancing Quality in Education (TPP-Nepal Project), running from 2017 to 2020, was carried out by Finnish universities of applied sciences in Jyväskylä (JAMK) and Hämeenlinna (HAMK) in cooperation with Tribhuvan University (TU), Nepal.

The goal of the project was to improve the online and distance education programmes at Tribhuvan University and its campuses around the country by developing the teachers’ ICT skills, pedagogical knowledge and guidance skills in distance education, as well as by developing the ICT environments of the campuses.

The main outcome of this project was that ODL development is necessary for TU in cooperation with international partners. Cooperation in the TPP project was essential for TU to start new programmes.

New ODL programmes as a result

The new ODL programmes were developed and The operation procedure regarding the ODL implementation approved by the executive council of TU. Two semester M.Ed Science and two semester B.Ed Social Studies and Math programmes were also approved by the academic council with a new structure and new curricula.
Self-Learning Materials were also produced for new ODL programmes.
The Teachers’ Handbooks were produced in order to help teacher trainers in implementation of ODL education model.
Mahendra Ratna Campus opened the new programs with the joint effort of the six campuses in January 2020.
The programmes in Science and Social Studies started in February 2020 with 101 students, 21 % of whom were women. Programmes which were opened before TPP Nepal, during ToT-Nepal project phase (2015-2017), received 200 new students.
The guidance and counselling concept and models are used in new and other programmes at TU.
New programmes were marketed and announced on the local radio, webpages and newspapers. Information letters were shared with the district education office and the video tape was produced. New programmes raised also a lot of interest among potential applicants.
Project’s specialists have published publications, articles and blog posts.
The evaluation report was published in December 2019. All TPP project components and their impact on ODL development at TU has been evaluated in the report. The main outcome is that ODL development is necessary for TU in cooperation with international partners. Cooperation in the TPP project has been smooth and essential for TU to start new programmes. However, it has also been challenging for TU to implement all international ideas and initiatives due to the different pedagogical context and fragile infrastructure. One of the most important theme has been the guidance and counselling theory and practices.

TPP-Nepal publications

The joint publication, Achievements and Challenges of Open and Distance Learning Development in Nepal, was produced to highlight the lessons learnt, the progress made and the challenges remaining in different regions.
Articles were written by all campuses, and they were reviewed by Finnish experts. https://janet.finna.fi/Record/janet.359382

Read the publication: Achievements and challenges of open and distance learning development in Nepal

JAMK, network magazine article in 2019:
https://www.jamk.fi/globalassets/tietoa-jamkista–about-jamk/materiaalit-esitteet-asiakaslehdet-ja-logot/asiakaslehdet/20191/jamk_asiakaslehti_1_2019_web.pdf

Blog posts during the project: https://blogit.jamk.fi/aokkhankkeet/tag/nepal

Article by Leppänen, T. 2020. Pedagoginen ihme – havaintoja globaalista opettajuudesta, on the publication Tulevaisuuden opettajuus

Text by Tuovi Leppänen, Anna-Kaisa Tiihonen