Overview
Mahendra Ratna Multiple Campus (hereinafter MRMC), Ilam, which was also established in the same year (2016) as TU, is the first autonomous campus under TU constituent campuses to enter into the process of obtaining Quality Assurance and Accreditation (hereinafter QAA) with its academic strength and status.
Tribhuvan University approved the campus to run autonomously in 2066 BS (1st February 2010). This allowed the campus to make academic, financial, infrastructural, and administrative decisions. Inaugurated on 21st Ashad 2017 BS (1960 A.D.) as Mahendra Ratna Mahavidyalaya with the enrollment of only 26 students, this campus started offering classes under the Founder Principal, Mr. Khagendra Nath Sharma. It only offered the Intermediate of Arts (I.A.) course then.
Since 2041, with TU's approval, it has started offering courses at both the certificate and bachelor's levels. Now, it has expanded its academic programs in different disciplines and levels. This campus has been leading academically in the Ilam district and other neighboring districts—Jhapa, Panchthar, and Taplejung. MRMC, Ilam, believes in translating dreams into reality by producing efficient and employable youths in the job market in this modern competitive age to serve the community. It has a cherished past of academic excellence that energetic professionals initiated.
Dedicated to quality education, MRMC, Ilam deems that education is the only thing worthy of investment to improve the quality of life of people pushing the frontiers of excellence. It believes that education is not the name of any degree or certificate that can be shown to others as proof. Still, education is the name of our attitude, actions, language, behavior, and personality with others in real life. This campus has been running multiple programs offering its students various subjects. It provides programs for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Education at the Bachelor's and Master's levels, and the Faculty of Management and Horticulture Management at the Bachelor's level. Since 2069, this campus has conducted the B.Sc. program in Horti-Flori Management (18 semesters) approved by TU with an intake of 30 students in its first academic year. Recently, the campus introduced a four-year (eight semesters) BBA program.
A) Vision
Leading higher educational center of academic excellence in teaching, learning, and research.
B) Mission
Develop competent human resources through scientific and applied education.
C) Goal
To improve the quality of existing academic programs and inspire society to establish a deemed university.
D) Objectives
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Improve the educational status by systematically managing its physical infrastructure, such as faculty-wise classrooms, library, labs, and equipment.
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To improve students' examination results by reforming, extending, and better managing the existing academic programs and to promote the Campus as the center of academic excellence through competition and timely curricula reform.
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To establish the Campus as an institution having subject-wise professionally proficient and skilled human resources.
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To establish the Campus as a well-managed academic center for research.
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To establish the Campus economically and financially with a due mobilization of internal and external resources.
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To develop, extend, and upgrade the internal activities and student welfare programs.
Overview of the Catchment Areas
Named after the Late King Mahendra, MRMC is located in Ward No. 7 of Ilam Municipality in a peaceful and serene landscape against a historical tea garden of Nepal established in the 1920s. Students from all parts of the Ilam district, other districts of the Mechi zone, and also from different regions of Nepal join to pursue their studies on this campus. MRMC, Ila,m bears a glorious history of producing graduates in political, economic, social, academic, and civil services. Most students enrolled on campus are from lower-middle-class and middle-class populations from different parts of the Eastern region.
Students are attracted to the campus because of the low and affordable tuition fees and easy access. It now has 80 teaching faculty members and 32 non-teaching staff, including support staff, providing higher education opportunities to more than 2400 students in various academic programs. The campus prioritizes creating an environment that enables teaching and non-teaching staff to perform their best job. The faculty members are driven by cross-disciplinary collaboration and a community sense of quality education and manpower. The campus has four faculties with M.Phil and 70 Faculties with Master's Degrees.
It has a moderate climatic condition, neither cool nor hot, with a panoramic beauty of nature, greenery, and tea gardens. Thus, Ilam can be a good destination for students seeking higher education. MRMC Bachelor and Degree holders have been working as key figures in government offices, various financial institutions, NGOs, INGOs, corporations, and private sectors.
Academic Program Activities (Faculties)
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FoHSS)
TU's main objective of setting up FoHSS is to produce trained and specialized human resources in both basic and applied areas of humanities and social sciences. In Ilam, there are 4 Departments with specialized study areas. These include interdisciplinary subjects like English, Nepali, Rural Development, Sociology and Anthropology, Geography, Economics, Political Sciences, Culture (NeCHA), Mathematics, History, etc. They also offer research methodology courses. There are altogether 32 teaching staff in FoHSS. Terms of References (ToRs) are distributed to all departments and sections of the campus to carry out the respective roles and responsibilities. Some departments publish journals and also have set up a small library corner. The campus has adopted both annual and semester systems for academic programs.
The Faculty of Management (FoM)
FoM educates students on business, industry, and government professional pursuits. It further enhances students' knowledge and understanding of business and administration and creates more employment opportunities in the job market.
In 2079, the campus introduced a Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in the TU semester system to cater to the needs and demands of the district's students, stakeholders, and civil society for middle-level managerial positions in the business sector at home and abroad.
Similarly, a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) under FoHSS is also being introduced to produce generalist social workers who can address human relations and social problems such as domestic violence, conflict, child rights abuse, etc.
The Faculty of Education (FoE)
The campus offers a one-year and four-year B.Ed in Economics, English, Political Science, Mathematics, EPM, Geography, and Education, offering general and vocational education.
Department of Horticulture Management (DoHM)
TU launched a four-year Bachelor's Horticulture and Horticulture program for the first time in Nepal in MRMC, Ilam, in 2012 A.D. (2069 BS). The main objectives of this program are to create efficient and job-oriented human resources in Horticulture, Agriculture, and Horticulture and to promote, coordinate, and disseminate academic research on the same subject discipline. The campus has constructed labs for Biology, Chemistry, and Horticulture for the students. It has also constructed sheds, houses, a rainwater harvesting tank, and other facilities.
Academic Programs Offered
Masters Program:
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Master of Arts (MA) in Rural Development
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Master of Arts (MA) in Nepali
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Master of Arts (MA) in Sociology
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M.Ed English Language Education
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M.Ed Education Planning and Management
Bachelors Programs:
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Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Geography
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Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Sociology
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Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Rural Development
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Bachelor of Arts (BA)
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One Year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) in Mathematics
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One Year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.)
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Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) in Geography
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Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) in Population
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Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) in Health
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Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) in English
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Bachelor of Education (B.Ed)
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B.Sc. in Horticulture & Floriculture Management
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Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS)
Research & Publications
The campus provides mini-research grants to teaching faculty through the Research Unit of MRMC. It encourages teachers to publish their research articles in the Research Journal, the Unit's annual journal.
THE LIBRARY
The campus has an automated library on its premises, facing the tea garden. It offers services for students studying during morning and day shifts. The campus also offers students and teaching faculty e-library services and e-resource sites. The two-story building has cozy and spacious study rooms.
CANTEEN
The campus has a newly set-up canteen that is freely accessible to students and teaching and non-teaching staff during their break time on all weekdays. Its friendly atmosphere offers a variety of hygienic dishes that are freshly prepared and subsidized.
TU provided academic autonomous status to MRMC in 2066 BS (18th Magh), and accordingly, MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) took place between the campus and UGC, Nepal, on 24th Magh, 2066. The campus obtained QAA on 24th Bhadra, 2072. One of the indicators of MoU was QAA, which had two components – QAA cycle completion and acquiring QAA certification. For the second achievement, MRMC formed twenty-six cells to collect data and inputs per nature, ToR was provided to the respective cells, and reports were submitted to IQQAC.
The campus has undertaken various initiatives in response to the priority and general recommendations made by the PRT (Pre-Review Team) to pave the path for academic excellence and sustainability of the activities on campus. Providing autonomy was a means, while the end was the quality of education and human resources. In its move to participate in the QAA process, the campus has formed a 3-member team called SSR preparation under the chairmanship of Mr. Deependra Dula,l including two other members – Mr. Rajendra Baral and Mr. Sitaram Ghimire.
The campus has also formed a 5-member team called SAT to work on the preparation of SSR (Self-Study Report). It includes Mr. Rajendra Baral as Co-ordinator and Mr. Mukunda Guragain, Mrs. Bimala Pokhrel, Mr. Punya Bhattarai, and Mr. Kendra Khatri as members. Both committees are supposed to prepare an SSR and submit it to the QAA Division of UGC for the accreditation certificate within 4 months, starting with the team's formation.
IQAAC and SAT hold meetings with different stakeholders inside and outside the campus. Both collected inputs, feedback, problems, and possible remedies from them. The committees have completed their assigned tasks of preparing the SSR by incorporating the issues and concerns before the peer review. The campus has submitted the Letter of Intent (LoI) to UGC for the final peer review visit from UGC for the accreditation/renewal process. The campus has also submitted the SSR to the UGC, which the SSR preparation committee prepared. The total QAA certification process is carried out by an IQAAC committee with seven members.
ECA & Counseling
We believe sports and physical activity enhance student development and learning. It is the students' window to the external world and forms the foundation of social, intellectual, physical, and emotional skills requisite for success and life. To encourage such activities, the MRMC Students' Welfare Section has managed a basketball court, volleyball court, etc., to keep them occupied and involved. We believe the participation of students in different extracurricular activities bolsters the capacity for creative learning and recognizes their potential, allowing them to explore the values of leadership and self-reliance.
Other activities such as farewell and Programs such as creative writing, quiz contests, debates, spelling bees, and cultural programs are conducted as part of the academic routine. We provide mentoring and counseling for all our students as an integral phase that bridges a student's perspective and career. We offer individual assistance on all aspects of career planning and decision-making, including self-assessment, choice of major and career field, exploration of career-related interests, pursuit of internships and employment, and application to professional and graduate school.
Throughout their time at the Ilam campus, students will have access to numerous resources to help them design their vision for meaningful career paths and prepare for the future. They are encouraged to develop their thoughts by interacting with counselors here to help them. In each of their intellectual endeavors, our students are driven by the belief that their work must — and will — impact their communities, society, and the world. Students leave the Ilam campus prepared to thrive as independent, innovative leaders, no matter what path they choose in the future.
EXCURSIONS
Our institute organizes long and short excursions annually for its academic program. These excursions provide a first-hand experience of our country, its landscape, people's living conditions, and various cultures and traditions. Students can explore and enjoy nature and understand and see the effects of changing global weather conditions and their direct and indirect impacts on everyone. Such excursions help them learn various aspects of commercial culture, traditional and cultural values, and the beauty of this country's landscapes.
Salient Features of MRMC
Facilities and Attractions:
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Hostels (Boys' and Girls')
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Automated library
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Communication infrastructure like the internet, CC Cameras
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Subject-wise departments with computer and internet access
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Extracurricular activities
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Health care centers
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Boundary wall
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Staff residence
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Scholarship scheme (Full/50%)
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Public support services
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The peaceful and natural landscape of the historical tea garden nearby
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Extension of classroom buildings and spacious classrooms
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Transportation service
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Wider catchment areas
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Strategic planning
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Academic Calendar and Prospectus
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Encouraging faculties to pursue further studies (M.Phil. & Ph.D.)
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QAA certification
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Quality teaching and learning
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Research training/workshops and publication
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Mini-research projects
MRMC and Way Forward
MRMC, Ilam, has established and sustained its historical academic status and potential at the provincial and national levels. It aims to prepare disciplined, self-reliant, and responsible citizens. The campus has land (about 200 ropanis), buildings/blocks, human resources, an automated library, and academic status and recognition. The campus has promulgated policies and procedures for implementing academic, administrative, financial, and infrastructural activities. In this regard, the campus has been strongly supported by all stakeholders from inside and outside the community.
The sustainability of the development and the academic improvement of the campus are trusted by the participation of the stakeholders regularly from the past decades to the present time, as seen in the prospectus and bulletin. The campus has intensely worked for the infrastructural development.
However, several activities must be completed with more active roles and the participation of all concerned. There is a high expectation that the campus introduces technical studies, science studies, and CTEVT-based subjects so that quality students produced by both community and private schools and colleges should not go out to pursue further studies at the Bachelor's levels.
STUDENTS' CODE OF CONDUCT
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MRMC, Ilam, prioritizes a positive attitude and discipline within and outside the campus. We value disciplinary principles. At the beginning of the research, we try to provide students, faculty, and staff members with a code of conduct and expect them to follow it following norms and values.
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Students are expected to follow code guidelines consistently on campus, particularly at college-sponsored events or programs, educational training, field trips, seminars, and other campus activities, regardless of location.
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Students are required to carry their Identity Card issued by the institute at all times.
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Students are expected to be punctual and required to be on campus before the start time.
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No student will be allowed to leave their classes in between and must be present until the classes end for the day. Exceptional cases may be entertained only after respective approvals.
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The campus will not tolerate any misbehavior or the influence of stimulating substances like narcotics, alcohol, cigarettes, lethal drugs, weapons, violence, etc. If any student is found guilty, she/he will be immediately expelled from the campus.
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Strict action, suspension, and fines will be imposed on those who indulge in unauthorized leave, bunk classes, or damage campus property.
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Students must attend the campus in a prescribed uniform, maintain good hygiene, and be groomed at all times. The security deposit will only be refunded after the course has been completed.
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Admit cards, exam forms, mark sheets, character certificates, and documents will not be issued without clearance of dues from the Accounts Department and the campus library.
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The managing committee's decision will be final in case of dispute. MRMC reserves the right to modify or eliminate existing norms and formulate new ones without notice if necessary.
Conclusion
MRMC, Ilam, is an academic asset of the Ilam district. It has been carrying on a 6-decade-long glorious and leading academic history in eastern Nepal. It carries a great responsibility and expectation of the stakeholders and community. MRMC now has sufficient infrastructure, such as buildings, classrooms, a stage, a library, and a communication infrastructure. However, the expectations are still more concerned with the quality of teaching and learning, research work, and refresher training, transparency in actions and activities, the right to information, result analysis, admission ratio of the students, introduction of new subjects, and their market research as per the local need and context.
MRMC, Ilam, has come a long way through ebbs and flows at different times. It is highly expected that MRMC will contribute a lot to the community and stakeholders through high-service delivery of quality education and performance. We, as educators, believe in broadening the scope of learning, wisdom, skills, and positive attitudes required for overall human development through quality educational services. We consider our seniors and guardians our torchbearers and would like to assimilate their practical suggestions to ascend further.
It has 85 faculty members and 35 administrative staff. Master's degrees in RD, Sociology, Nepali (in Humanity), EPM, and English (in Education) are running. Other programs are at the bachelor's level. The academic premises are located in a pleasant, beautiful place in Ilam Bazar, just to the southwest boundary of the historical tea garden of Ilam. The total number of students is 2353 in four faculties. In B.Sc. HFM, most of the students are from different parts of Nepal, is an interesting matter.
For detailed information on the course, admissions, location, fees, scholarships, facilities, counseling, or eligibility, contact Mahendra Ratna Multiple Campus's administrative office.
