Excellence in Technical Education: The Pathway of Quality Management

Abstract

Education and especially technical education is recognized as a builder of both society and the nation. However, the precondition that it is fit in all respects must have been satisfied. The haziness in the definition of quality and hence ‘the fitness’ notwithstanding, requirements and expectations have been rightly raised to so called ‘excellence’ in education. The present work seeks to map the roadmap of improvement of (technical) education towards excellence, using quality, and/or quality management as the stimulus. By underpinning the triad model of Juran, the development of a case of quality utilizes the Joiner’s model to achieve total quality improvement. This may not have excluded the paradigm of TQM in (technical) education, and rather considers it as a label or as an ardent part of the same package within the conceptual initiative. The modulation of requirements of quality management makes a case that the total quality improvement process accents on the various core activities associated with the knowledge transfer to students through an environment which sustains the proliferation of ‘quality culture’ and plethoric use of quality, its management, through the optimal use of the quality management standard. The quality of their exploration as core technology, use of quality management (standard) as a tool and pursuance of quality as advised by Juran’s model and the institution’s quality culture shall determine what level of excellence will be achieved.

Keywords: Quality assurance, TQM, quality management standard, Thareja's adaptation of Joiner’s model, 4-A model, PDCA