Higher Studies In Crisis Management

 

--By Ashok Poudel

 

Developing or least developed countries are more prone to different types of crises as they are in the process of development. Nepal is not an exception in occurance of crises, be it natural or human -induced. Lack of systematic provisions to control any sort of crisis in Nepal has been a major hurdle in solving, managing and minimizing impacts of crisis. Responding to this necessity, recently a complete course on Crisis Management has been introduced in Nepal for the first time. 

 

Samarpan Academy - Institute of Crisis Management Studies (ICMS) has launched Masters Degree in Crisis Management  course ‘Masters in Crisis Management’ (MCM) in affiliation with  Tribhuwan University. The college’s management is presided by Dr Ram Thapaliya, a PhD holder in Crisis Management. Balananda Sharma, fLieutenant General (Rtd) of Nepal Army, is the principal of the college. Sharma played key role in the management, rehabilitation and integration of the Maoist combatants as coordinator of the secretariat of the Army Integration Special Committee (AISC).   

 

Other key figures behind the college are Former Inspector General of Police Sanat Basnet, Immediate past President of  Federation of Nepalese Chambers of commerce and Industry (FNCCI)  Kush Kumar Joshi, Nepali Congress Leader Nabindra Raj Joshi, UCPN-Maoist leader Khimlal Devkota, CPN UML Leader Shanti Adhikari and Dr. Shivaji Yadav.. 

 

Elaborating on the objective of the institution, Principal Sharma said that the sole motive behind introducing the course is to minimize consequences of crisis by managing it  rather than to make profit. “This is an experience sharing institute,” he says. “If a crisis can be managed systematically, we can minimize the consequences a lot.” Sharma claims that Crisis Management students are salable in international market too.

 

Course Specs

Students who have completed  bachelor’s level with at least 2nd division are eligible to enroll for this course. The course includes basic knowledge on crisis management, various types of crisis that Nepal has been through and case studies on various international crisis incidents. The college is planning to enroll 20-30 students in its first batch and has long term plans to extend its capacity to enroll 40-50 students in each batch. 

 

International Students 

The college is looking forward to teach international students too. “Developed countries in west want to study about developing countries as the latter face different types of crisis,” Sharma says adding, “International teachers too want to come here to teach this course”. 

 

Fee Structure

Four-semester course fee for a Nepali student is set at Rs 515,500. Similarly, it is Rs 817,600 for students from SAARC region and USD 10,000 for students from other countries. “There is a provision for scholarship for genuine and needy,” said Sharma.