Planning to join a TU IOE College for your Engineering Degree? Here's how to make an informed decision...
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| Central Administration, TU |
So you probably have heard from some people (usually parents and uncles) that you should be studying in TU which is (according to them) the better one in Nepal. While that is true to some extent (spoiler alert: not a big extent), we'll be looking at why in this blog. I will go through stuff that TU, especially IOE, offers in terms of value.
Tribhuvan University (TU), established in 1959, is the first national institution of higher education in Nepal. The Central Administrative Office and the Central Campus of the university are located on the north eastern facade of Kirtipur, an ancient and small town located five kilometers away from Kathmandu city centre. On January 8, 2013, the government of Nepal has principally agreed to declare Tribhuvan University as the Central University.¹
Let's look at the websites of TU and IOE first
Now if you go into TU's website, it's a complete mess with broken links, unsecure encryptions and what not so I'd suggest sticking to whatever data I'm able to conjure from there. One notable thing I found was that the scholarship page has not been updated since January 2021. So my open question to the people managing the website is: What is the website for? Let's get back on track though.
Institute of Engineering (IOE) is one of the five institutes under TU, along with IOM, IOF, IAAS and IOST. The story of IOE website stays much the same with obsolete and/or incomplete data throughout the site except for notices. Scholarship page is once again empty, says a lot about Nepal tbh.
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| Glimpse of one of the pages of the IOE website |
Well now we know the websites are not going to be of much use. I'm just saving you time and effort here. So let's take a look at stuff that should have a tangible value.
- What Engineering Courses Are Offered?
Currently there's a wide selection of courses available in IOE. It will be useful to know their codenames and where they are taught before hopping in blindly.
First, talking about the constituent (government) campuses, these are the offered courses by each:
Courses offered by all* campuses:
1. Civil Engineering (BCE)
2. Computer Engineering (BCT)
3. Electrical Engineering (BEE)
4. Mechanical Engineering (BME)
5. Electronics, Communication and Information Engineering (BEI) [formerly Electronics and Communication Engineering (BEX) ]
6. Architecture (B. Arch) [Considered a bit separate from other engineering degrees and not taught in Pashchimanchal Campus]
Courses offered by some campuses:
1. Aerospace Engineering (BAE) - Pulchowk
2. Chemical Engineering (BCH) - Pulchowk
3. Industrial Engineering (BIE) - Thapathali
4. Geomatics Engineering (BGE) - Pashchimanchal
5. Automobile Engineering (BAM) - Thapathali & Pashchimanchal
6. Agriculture Engineering (BAG) - Purwanchal
As we can see, there's a total of 12 offered programs whose information is very limited in the website as well but they might give you a brief insight so I suggest you check out this page.
- What are the college options?
Okay I took a few names already but those are the five government campuses available. Here, let me name them again- Pulchowk Campus ; Pulchowk, Lalitpur
- Thapathali Campus ; Thapathali, Kathmandu
- Pashchimanchal Campus ; Lamachaur, Pokhara
- Purwanchal Campus ; Dharan, Sunsari
- Chitwan Engineering Campus ; Rampur, Chitwan
If you want more information on these campuses, follow this link.
Now how about the private or affiliated colleges under IOE?
There's 10 of them:
- Kathmandu Engineering College ; Kalimati, Kathmandu
- Advance College of Engineering and Management ; Kalanki, Kathmandu
- Kantipur Engineering College ; Harisidhhi, Lalitpur
- Himalaya College of Engineering ; Chyasal, Lalitpur
- National College of Engineering ; Satdobato, Lalitpur
- Janakpur Engineering College ; Kupondole, Lalitpur
- Kathford International College ; Balkumari, Lalitpur
- Khwopa College of Engineering ; Libali, Bhaktapur
- Sagarmatha Engineering College ; Kuleshwor, Lalitpur
- Lalitpur Engineering College ; Chakupat, Lalitpur
From this, it's clear that there's very few colleges/campuses outside of the valley which might be a big deal if you're considering studying near home. Currently there's an option in Pokahra and Dharan with CEC in Chitwan for Architecture only. This is a big downside when compared to PoU or even IOST of TU itself (TU BSc. courses available throughout Nepal).
- How am I actually supposed to join IOE?
So maybe you just gave or haven't even given your grade 12 exams and want to know what you got to do later. Worry not, because this is how it goes down step by step:- Grade 12 results are dropped and in a while IOE releases a notice about entrance exams (RONB will post it don't worry)
- The entrance syllabus rarely changes so if you haven't been studying yet, it's time to put on your studying hat and get familiar with the syllabus
- There's about a 45-day window till exams so you can read, revise, solve mcqs and stuff; meanwhile exam forms will open on date given in the entrance notice so fill that up and select your date
(Entrance takes place through a week and you have to select a day and a shift among morning, mid day, day and evening) - After all entrance shifts are over, results are out within 1-2 days and in the result notice, the date of admission commencing is mentioned
- Private colleges begin admission soon after results are published but for govt. campuses, they release admission timeline on aforementioned day and you have to fill a priority form for each campus selecting your preferred engineering program.
(For priority form, usually you have to sign in to admission portal then go to a branch of the bank used by your applying campus, pay according to your number of priorities (Regular and Full Fee are two different priorities) then complete the form and submit) - The colleges then begin to publish admission lists. If your name is on that list and you're satisfied with your selection or you hope to be transferred to a higher priority (this happens if in the next list your rank suffices for the higher priority program), go and admit to that college. Mind you, you can only admit at one college and transfer is not possible for government campuses on admission.
- You are automatically included in first 3 admission lists and once you are in that list, you will only be accounted for the higher priority programs in the next list whether you get admitted or not. If you're already admitted your admission will be upgraded to the higher priority.
- For admission you will need to deposit the payment stated in their admission list as per your name in their mentioned bank account and then take the voucher with you during admission. In addition, all the documents requested by campus must be validated by a notary public (law personnel).
- They will tell you when the classes will start then you can go home and return when classes commence.
- Grade 12 results are dropped and in a while IOE releases a notice about entrance exams (RONB will post it don't worry)
- The entrance syllabus rarely changes so if you haven't been studying yet, it's time to put on your studying hat and get familiar with the syllabus
- There's about a 45-day window till exams so you can read, revise, solve mcqs and stuff; meanwhile exam forms will open on date given in the entrance notice so fill that up and select your date
(Entrance takes place through a week and you have to select a day and a shift among morning, mid day, day and evening) - After all entrance shifts are over, results are out within 1-2 days and in the result notice, the date of admission commencing is mentioned
- Private colleges begin admission soon after results are published but for govt. campuses, they release admission timeline on aforementioned day and you have to fill a priority form for each campus selecting your preferred engineering program.
(For priority form, usually you have to sign in to admission portal then go to a branch of the bank used by your applying campus, pay according to your number of priorities (Regular and Full Fee are two different priorities) then complete the form and submit) - The colleges then begin to publish admission lists. If your name is on that list and you're satisfied with your selection or you hope to be transferred to a higher priority (this happens if in the next list your rank suffices for the higher priority program), go and admit to that college. Mind you, you can only admit at one college and transfer is not possible for government campuses on admission.
- You are automatically included in first 3 admission lists and once you are in that list, you will only be accounted for the higher priority programs in the next list whether you get admitted or not. If you're already admitted your admission will be upgraded to the higher priority.
- For admission you will need to deposit the payment stated in their admission list as per your name in their mentioned bank account and then take the voucher with you during admission. In addition, all the documents requested by campus must be validated by a notary public (law personnel).
- They will tell you when the classes will start then you can go home and return when classes commence.
- How many seats are there?
You'll find the answer to this question in the admission booklet but here let me just put them down for you (from 2079 booklet):
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| Constituent Campus Seat Information |
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| Affiliated Campus Seat Information |
So as we can see there's 2040 total seats in government TU campuses and 2304 seats in private TU colleges. Comparing the total to the number of students that pass entrance each year (about 7000), we can see how only around half the students have enough seats.
Moreover, if you're planning to study Civil or Computer Engineering, you will find a lot more seats than if you were interested in say, Mechanical Engineering.
Since program selection is a very important part of starting your Engineering journey, I'll write a blog and link it here in the future. Self assessment goes a long way.
- How much will I pay for my degree?
This is where we can talk about the clear distinction between government and private colleges.
In government colleges, there are two types of packages, one being Regular (basically scholarship) and Full Fee. The fee details are included in the booklet as well but I'll upload it here just in case:
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| Constituent Campus Fees for Regular, Full Fee and Foreign Students |
The fees are not too high as is clearly visible, amounting to around 40k* for Regular and 320k* for Full Fee over the 4 years of studies where both amounts are lesser than the living expenses during those years.
For private colleges, the fees are outrageous for the most part if we compare it to government campuses. From their websites, I couldn't find any mention of their fee structure but from people's voices it seems like Khwopa has a fee structure of about 6-8L for 4 years while other colleges charge 12-18L for the 4 years so it's better to contact the concerned college if you're curious and planning to study Engineering in private college.
- Are there dress constraints too?
For government campuses except Pashchimanchal campus(cream shirt and bluish gray pants worn by first year students), there is no dress code but private colleges have a strict dress code demanding discipline similar to that of +2 colleges. Just wanted to let you know before you're surprised.
- What are the college hours?
For government colleges it is usually from 10-5 Sunday through Friday but since every day is divided into modules of a fixed length (the modules designed according to credit hours), the classes can end early, begin late or have a leisure in between as per the class schedule.
But for the private colleges, the time is usually fixed. Take an example of KEC where classes run Monday through Friday with 7-4 on first and last day and 7-3 on others. Other private colleges have their own timings as well but it would be better to ask them during admission. The blog is already going very long.
- What other things should I know?
Aside from all these basic things, there's other potentially important and interesting facts one should know before joining IOE.
First off, I'm warning you that there are no internships (unless you study Chemical Engineering) offered by IOE themselves. Some private colleges boast their "linkage with companies and employers" but I'm not sure how credible their claim is.
Government campuses are just "Pure IOE" experiences and private campuses are basically advanced +2 colleges in a nutshell. So if I'm talking about IOE, I'm generally indicating government campuses.
Speaking of IOE and basically TU, being the central university of Nepal it's always shrouded by political drama and if you're a student in IOE campus you'll feel the political wave through countless student unions in your campus. Now even some private colleges have started getting glimpses of political interference here and there. In an IOE campus, there's a lot of student clubs and societies that conduct programs and events. The campus is just there to facilitate teaching-learning and taking exams. The administration usually takes the matter into their own hands in case of private colleges and there's a lot fewer ECAs and events consequently.
I might go so far as to say that if holistic development in campus is your goal and not just getting an engineering degree (you could do stuff out of campus but let's keep it beyond the scope of this tip), you should definitely opt for a government campus.
The public perception or at least what your uncles think is that studying in government TU campus and especially Pulchowk is the best decision if possible. While it is true for most; for a rich household, studying in private college might provide them a lot more disciplined and study focused 4 years of their life.
Engineering is a rigorous field and even though the people passing the entrance are among the top minds of the country, the pass rate in semester exams is low across the board. While it is a bit better for Pulchowk and its likes, the cause of discrepancy is apparent due to the fact that it's filled with top 1000, top 500 and top 100 people mostly.
Another thing is that most of the courses offered in IOE are deemed obsolete or unnecessary. The curriculum is yet to be updated since the past 2 decades and in a fast paced world like ours, that is a long time. This can make one skeptical about whether he should or not choose TU as his study destination. Fortunately we have Pokhara Univerity, Kathmandu University and other universities offering Engineering programs so we have more options to choose from if we're planning to get our undergraduate degree in Nepal.
Bro quota...
Ah brother stop it, there's enough information in the booklet and the quota form is in there as well so you have to see it anyway. Enjoy your easy ticket because of your ancestor's struggles.
On closing notes, I have yet to write blogs on PoU and KU so before then I'm not putting forth my personal opinions on which university you might want to choose. I'm an IOE student if that helps. Thank you for reading my blog.
References and Important Websites:
8.Other private campuses websites (Can find if you search their names)
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About Me
I am Arun Chandra Bhusal, a current Bachelors in Electronics, Communication and Information Engineering student in Pashchimanchal Campus (WRC), Pokahra. As of Nov 11, 2022 I'm in the second semester of my program.
Contacts:
Email: bhusalarunchandra@gmail.com
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