Trends of Students' Enrollment in Dhankuta Multiple Campus

This paper attempts to explore the students' enrolment trends in Dhankuta Multiple Campus. The discipline of geography has offered in Bachelor's degree level at the Faculties of Education (FoE), and Humanities, and Social Sciences (FoHSS) since 1970. This paper is based on the review of relevant materials collected from the official records of the Dhankuta Multiple Campus. The data covers 25 years (1996-2020) of student enrolment in the Bachelor's first year of both faculties. Students' enrolment data reveals that the student enrolment rate in the FoHSS seems to be the same while fluctuations observed in the FoE. The enrolment rate in the FoE reached its climax in 2005, and it has gradually declined after 2010. The FoE offered a single-subject specialization policy in the Bachelors of Degree Program, phasing out the proficiency certificate level from the university; the declining number of feeder schools offering geography and the state economic policies are responsible factors to deterioration the student enrolment. Therefore, the concerned authorities need to take appropriate steps to increase student enrolment.

Social Representation of Non-Academic Work in Mexico in the Light of Cultural Artefacts

Context: Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has attracted increasing interest in recent years due to its potential to address productivity and equity challenges, such as better employment prospects, as outlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the potential of such programmes, the enrolment rate in vocational training at upper secondary level in Mexico is 38.2%, i.e. below the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 45.7%. This raises the question of possible reasons for the low enrolment rate. Approach: Based on the assumption that attitudes towards non-academic work are culturally anchored in Mexican society, which also shapes the educational and career aspirations of younger generations, the project named Cultural Practice of Non-academic Work in Mexico (KuPraMex), funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), investigates social representations of non-academic work in Mexico. This is done through the analysis of artefacts such as films, murals, etc., as these are part of the tangible culture of a society. As materialised products of human activities or cultural practices, artefacts can be understood as objectifications of social relations and conditions. Therefore, in this context, it is assumed that through the analysis of cultural artefacts, a deeper understanding of how non-academic work is thought, felt, and valued in Mexican society will emerge.Findings: It has been found that the topic on non-academic work is often associated with informality. Moreover, the representations and narratives in cultural artefacts often show that non-academic work, apart from office work, is physically challenging but cognitively undemanding. In terms of access to a company, social networks seem to have enormous relevance. Hierarchies seem rigid and opportunities for promotion limited. However, narratives with more positive attributions regarding non-academic work can also be identified, which state that young people experience a habitus transformation through work. Conclusion: Nevertheless, non-academic work in Mexico seems to lack prestige, which may affect young people's educational and career aspirations and choices. This could mean that those who can afford it prefer to pursue a career in tertiary education rather than opt for a TVET programme. At the macro level, the mentioned lack of prestige could hamper attempts to offer such programmes.

LATE AND UNEQUAL: MEASURING ENROLMENTS AND RETENTION IN BRAZILIAN EDUCATION, 1933-2010

ABSTRACT This paper presents a new dataset of enrolment rates and grade distribution ratios (GDR) in Brazil between 1933 and 2010, in addition to enrolment rates and GDR of Brazilian states from 1955 to 2010. To our knowledge, there are no previous estimates of enrolment rates by states for such a long period in Brazil. Enrolment rates and GDR in northern and north-eastern states were meagre and comparable to the lowest Latin American performers, and even the most advanced Brazilian states lagged behind the early leaders of the region, such as Argentina and Uruguay, until the turn of the century. Given a certain enrolment rate, Brazilian states were expected to present lower GDR compared to Latin American countries on average.

Education in Pakistan: Are the Articles 25A and 37(b) Closing the Gender Gap in KP Province?

This study aims to analyze the effectiveness of articles 25A and 37(b) in closing the gender gap in Pakistan's KP province. This stated Article explains the right to free and compulsory education up to the secondary level. The literature review has shown that two types of factors can affect achieving the goals defined by articles 25A and 37(b). Article 25A provides constitutional efforts to provide free and compulsory education in the chapter of fundamental rights. Article 37(b) enjoined the respective institutions' obligation to remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory education to the secondary level within the minimum possible period. Clause (f) of the same Article declares how the State will enable Pakistani citizens to participate in national life through education. These claims were named as "efforts." The efforts are under human control. Some factors act against these stated efforts, known as "circumstances," which are natural and out of human control, such as gender gaps, poverty, Pashtunwali culture, etc. In Pakistan, the "efforts" are made to achieve the stated Articles' targets. Still, no policy was developed to answer the "circumstances." This attitude extends hurdles in educating KP girls. Suggestions were made to eradicate these "circumstances" entirely or partially to the extent possible. If these "circumstances" were removed, the girls' ratio of gross enrolment rate would be at least at a high level as boys, and thus the vision explained by the stated Articles can be achieved.

Feasibility of a Tai Chi with Thera-Band Training Program: A Pilot Study

Tai Chi, combined with Thera-band (TCTB) exercise may be associated with an improvement in health where it increases physical fitness, improves psychological well-being, and decreases pain. This paper aimed to determine the feasibility of TCTB exercise in older sedentary office workers. Forty office workers aged over 55 years participated in a pilot randomized controlled trial (i.e., 12-week TCTB exercise or Tai Chi exercise only). Feasibility of the TCTB exercise approach was ascertained through the recruitment and enrolment rate, acceptability of the study intervention by participants including retention and adherence rates, participants’ learning process, the appropriateness of data collection as well as the participants’ evaluation of the intervention. Recruitment took longer than planned, with a low recruitment rate of 2.0% (42/2020), but a high enrolment rate of 95.2% (40/42). Thirty-one participants (i.e., 77.5%) completed the intervention. Of those who completed the trial, the overall average attendance was reported as 85.2%; 84.7% in the TCTB group and 85.7% in the Tai Chi only group. A total of 58.3% of participants (n = 21) could independently practice the TCTB or Tai Chi exercise motions at the end of the learning stage. There were no missing data except for the nine participants who withdrew during the intervention. No adverse events or effects were reported, and all participants were satisfied with the 12-week exercise intervention. Results support the feasibility of a large-scale randomized controlled trial to explore the efficacy of a TCTB program for improving health in older sedentary office workers.