Good Governance: Policies and Practices of Madhesh University in Nepal

The study explores the governance issues and the underlying principles, forces and factors that contribute to good or poor governance in university. It does this by assessing six elements of governance, viz. transparency, accountability, and rule of law, equity, participation and probability, in Madhesh University, Birgunj, Nepal. University is facing several challenges in terms of good governance. This study addresses the gaps by experiencing cultural/racial resource-based university through governance perspective and explaining the driving forces and factors to result this situation. To address the gaps, two theoretical perspectives have been taken: Structural and Cognitive Social Capital for Participatory and inclusive development as a Social Process. The study attempts to evaluate the practice of governance in University, taking the case of appointment, ongoing process, attendance, interrelationship between teacher and student, and to identify those forces and factors that contribute to good or poor governance in University. Based on an ethnographic analysis of findings, it further explores student friendly physical facilities in their classroom to deliver the smooth teaching contents and project work but after observing their real practices in the classroom, they mostly used teacher centered methods, limited materials, white board, and markers and traditional physical facilities. The strengths and areas for development in terms of university governance. The study design is qualitative and analytical based on a descriptive framework design. The study concludes that when students and staff of university do not have technical and managerial skills, there is less proper documentation of processes and decisions. Inequality, marginalization, social discrimination, misbehaves and the attitude of the vice chancellor, dean and registrar to question the local political leaders contribute to lessening transparency. Clear distribution of information in local dialects, using, if possible, oral or traditional methods, motivates students / teachers to attend meetings and discussions to share their ideas as per policies and good governance. The study also reflects that self-monitoring practices are more effective than guided monitoring in terms of tenure and academic responsibility to stand by rules. Furthermore, creation of an inequitable environment and prejudice-led administrative and academic mobilization can lead to mistrust and poor transparency as well as poor governance, while equitable resource mobilization confirms leadership. Delegated power is a nature driver for promoting the sense of being accountable to the primary purpose of executives in university. Furthermore, accepted and conscious-based structuring and infrastructure is essential to achieve well-functioning university following governance principles. To achieve this, realistic planning and wider coordination is essential that is not visualized in MadheshUniversity.Thus, education and advance communication practices are the forces for transparent university. Size of university and participatory approaches in management also contribute to certifying that rules are followed, concerns are heard and leadership is felt. Trust and confidence in representative committees keeps the system alive. Governance through informal rules and norms directs students /teachers to achieve the goals of university. On the other hand, careful actions to delay communication, inability to apply the established rules and norms, financial mismanagement and failure to audit the institution’s financials reports negate governance in the university. Poor educational mobilization through poor sensitization, poor acknowledgement of academic energy and trust weaken the binding force among participants, thus affecting students’ faith in the executives and executives' responsibility over students.