Embellishing Quality Personality of Students through Japanese-style Quality Control Circles in Academia: A Success Story in Nepal
Embellishing Quality Personality of Students through Japanese-style Quality Control Circles in Academia A Success Story in Nepal
-Prof. Dinesh P. Chapapagain
BACKGROUND Each year in the month of November, young students from different parts of Nepal eagerly look forward to participate in a national festival of Students’ Quality Circles (SQC). The annual three-day National Convention on Students’ Quality Circles is being held in this country since 2005. On the occasion, thousands of school children cheerfully present and share their respective quality circle case stories. In the presence of an array of participants comprising of educationists, government authorities, business personalities, teachers and fellow students, they tell stories of how they solved their psychosocial problems, and how, in the process, they embellish their personality. The short history of Students’ Quality Circles in Nepal dates back to 1999. Since then, I have been motivated to propagate this unique approach of students’ personality development. After my training on the practice of Quality Control Circles (QCC) at AOTS, Japan for industrial development, I adapted the approach in educational institutions to implant quality mindset among students right at their early age with the notion of “Catch them Young”. Presently, more than 200 schools in Nepal have taken up Students’ Quality Circles, either as extracurricular or co-curricular activities. I still remember the standing ovation given by 300 participants to the SQC case presented by a team of eight children of KU High School in the 4th Regional Quality Convention organized in Kathmandu jointly by Nepal AOTS Alumni Society and AOTS, Japan in July 2006. Among those applauding this unique personality development approach were the distinguished Prof. Dr. Noriaki Kano from Japan and a number of AOTS ex-trainee quality professionals from Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Nepal who had attended the
-Prof. Dinesh P. Chapapagain
BACKGROUND Each year in the month of November, young students from different parts of Nepal eagerly look forward to participate in a national festival of Students’ Quality Circles (SQC). The annual three-day National Convention on Students’ Quality Circles is being held in this country since 2005. On the occasion, thousands of school children cheerfully present and share their respective quality circle case stories. In the presence of an array of participants comprising of educationists, government authorities, business personalities, teachers and fellow students, they tell stories of how they solved their psychosocial problems, and how, in the process, they embellish their personality. The short history of Students’ Quality Circles in Nepal dates back to 1999. Since then, I have been motivated to propagate this unique approach of students’ personality development. After my training on the practice of Quality Control Circles (QCC) at AOTS, Japan for industrial development, I adapted the approach in educational institutions to implant quality mindset among students right at their early age with the notion of “Catch them Young”. Presently, more than 200 schools in Nepal have taken up Students’ Quality Circles, either as extracurricular or co-curricular activities. I still remember the standing ovation given by 300 participants to the SQC case presented by a team of eight children of KU High School in the 4th Regional Quality Convention organized in Kathmandu jointly by Nepal AOTS Alumni Society and AOTS, Japan in July 2006. Among those applauding this unique personality development approach were the distinguished Prof. Dr. Noriaki Kano from Japan and a number of AOTS ex-trainee quality professionals from Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Nepal who had attended the