Biology Department

Brief History of the Biology Department

Within the framework of the Faculty of Education and Training of Helmand University, the department of Biology was approved in the year (2009 AD) and in 2015 AD, its administrative, practical, theoretical and academic affairs was officially started with the approval of two professors. The teaching and learning activities of the department started on the 16th day of the month of September in the year (2015 AD) with the activation of the first class. The Department of Biology has graduated six rounds so far, with a total of (145) students serving the community.

Vision

The Department of Biology will be a standard department in Afghanistan and the region. This department will provide the necessary materials for society based on new research and will also train cadres in various fields of biological sciences with an Islamic and patriotic spirit.

Mission

The Department of Biology strives to create a scientific and academic environment where learning and research will be of national and international standard and credible.

Goals

To train the standard professional staffs related to the value of living organisms, who are committed to national interests and become a tool for the development of the country.

7^th article: Duties of the Head Department:

Presiding over department meetings.
To represent the department against the higher-up.
Preparation of the department's work plan and its agenda.
Doing principled actions on the decisions of the department. Including the completion of documents for appointment, resignation and academic promotion.
Supervise the implementation of the curriculum and to supervise the implementation of all the lessons related to the department, whether they are theoretical, practical or field.
Presenting initiatives and ideas for the development of the department and faculty.
Trying to fulfill the needs of the department.
Organizing the academic and administrative affairs of the department.
Appreciating those members who have shown initiative in academic, administrative, research and other works and proposing punishments for those members who have committed serious violations.
Reporting to the faculty directorate and academic council about the departmental affairs.
Evaluating the activities of the academic staff members of the department in each semester and presenting the results of the related evaluation in the meeting of the department.
Carrying out all the duties related to the head of the department according to the law.

6^th article: The basic duties of teachers

Guiding of academic staff teachers and students according to the law of higher education.
Evaluating the works and academic conferences of academic staff members and other scholars and expressing opinions about them.
Taking an active role in academic and academic meetings as a guide, speaker or participant.
To actively participate in committees, meetings and academic councils.
Participating in all affairs for the betterment of the academic development of the university and related institutions, and working to protect the interests and advantages of the institution.
Increasing the level of knowledge and learning, especially in a specialized department and acquiring skills such as: learning a computer and an international and reliable language.
Preparing lecture notes and guidelines for academic, field and laboratory work.
Participating in the teaching of different courses or leading them.
Participating in the compilation of textbooks, preparing teaching materials and resources and leading them.
Developing academic researches and leading them.
Participating in the admission test to higher and semi-higher education institutions.
Carrying out other duties and activities, which are provided in the law of higher education institutions.

Foreword

Alhamdulillah, the Lord of the worlds, and the end for the pious, and prayers and peace be upon Muhammad (PBUH) and his family and companions!

The training of specialized, skilled and committed staffs in the field of biology, the basic mission of the Department of Biology in the framework of the Faculty of Education as a higher education institution. This is possible when the educational system of our country has expert and committed academic staffs, updated curriculum, well and strong leadership and coordination, and makes round-the-clock efforts to achieve its set goals.

Curriculum is without a doubt one of the basic elements in the higher education system of any country, which is actually a comprehensive plan and a comparative guide to apply and achieve the goals of an academic program. Change and progress in the understanding, behavior and professional skills of students can be brought about in an optimal way in accordance with the proposed goals through having a standard curriculum that meets the current needs of the society.

Keeping these issues in mind, the members of the academic staffs in the framework of the biology curriculum committees at different levels such as universities, faculties and departments, the process of needs assessment, evaluation, and finally revision and development of the curriculum of this field, according to the needs of Society, labor market, technological progress, latest academic achievements and finally according to international standards and criteria, they succeeded in updating their respective curriculum after continuous efforts for more than one and a half years.

It is expected that by applying the new curriculum, the students of this field will provide the region and the world with deeper knowledge, more skills, attitude of responsibility and commitment, and in the field of sustainable economic, social and cultural growth and development of Afghanistan.

Recently, we would like to express our gratitude to the honorable officials of the Ministry of Higher Education, the office staff of the Asia Foundation, the members of the specialized review committees and the participants of the cluster who contributed to the success of this process.

Vision

according to this curriculum and using different methods of teaching and training; The design and implementation of academic research will be applied in different aspects of biology, the professors and students of this field will study modern issues using modern technology, the Internet, using modern tools for laboratory applications, field and practical research on changes in well-being using the contents The different themes of this field will bring healthy living conditions to mankind.

Our point of view will be compatible with the possible changes in the economic, social and biological structure of the society by considering the following:

Creativity, innovation, use of different teaching methods and institutionalization of the culture of research and writing will put this field in a better place along with the society in the path of prosperity and comfort.

The desire to promote urbanization and culture, the desire to make the environment free from pollution and pay attention to the importance of living things and cultivating trees and preventing the cutting of forests and trees.

The approach of critical thinking and constructive social interaction will bring academic experiences of students to be responsible citizens, critics and collaborators to solve problems and contribute to public interests.

Biology education students are committed to continuous innovation and welcome creativity in order to better teach this field, they are trying to identify or create more flexible professional career paths to reduce the unemployment rate of biology graduates.

Mission

The Department of Biology has continuously made efforts to improve the quality of education and improved its teaching process according to the academic standards and new curriculum.

Advancing academic and research activities and strengthening students' sense of personal and social responsibility through a detailed understanding of high Islamic and human values.
Improving the academic and research level of the professors of this department.
Learning biology department based on standard and single curriculum; Provides students with an understanding of participation and success in a rapidly changing society.
The leaders and members of the academic staffs of biology department are sure that the students will acquire the skills that are necessary for the complete and correct education of this field, including the acquisition of the necessary capacities to succeed and serve in academic and educational institutions, because Afghanistan has a different climate in terms of diversity. Biodiversity (animals and plants) has the most different diversity. In this sense, to provide more job opportunities conditions for biology and research fields.

Values:

- Academic freedom based on educational and academic growth;

- Honesty and transparency in work;

- respecting the opinions of others;

- Rejection of any linguistic, ethnic, racial, intellectual discrimination, etc.;

- Giving students and professors a sense of responsibility;

- creating a healthy living environment;

- Making society aware of the importance of environmental science and knowledge;

- Believing and respecting Islamic and human values;

Educational Goals:

1. Training of professional staffs and experts in the field of biology for institutions of higher education, semi-higher education and education;

2. Training professional teachers with modern teaching methods and skills;

3. Improving the quantitative and qualitative level of biology knowledge in accordance with the discoveries and advances of the day;

4. Training of students with human and patriotism morale;

5. Increasing publications, strengthening academic research and creating motivation for students;

Expected results

At the end of their academic period in this field, students can take practical steps to promote better teaching by using this curriculum, new teaching methods and their specialized knowledge. Also, by performing laboratory works, they provide the background for further research in this field.

Needs assessment

The leadership board and working committee of the curriculum of Biology department and other fields of education of public universities, by cooperation with the respected Asia Foundation Institute, have compiled and implemented the program of revision and development of the curriculum of the Faculty of Education in the past one year. The curriculum revision and development program of the Department of Biology and other fields of education was carried out during two major and fundamental activities:

1- Setting up a needs assessment program by compiling and distributing questionnaires and analyzing data.

2- Organizing group activities in the form of workshops and data analysis.

The needs assessment program aims to evaluate the compatibility level of the existing curriculum of the Department of Biology and other fields of education with the expectations and needs of the beneficiaries, including the usefulness and applicability of the subjects, the updating and standardization of the syllabuses, the updating and standardization of the teaching resources, identifying the weak points And the strength of the educational curriculum of the Faculty of Education and the alignment of the curriculum with international standards have been launched. The group activities and its data analysis were conducted with the aim of measuring the basic needs of the labor market and providing more job opportunities for biology graduates due to the saturation of the labor market. In the first part, the data obtained from the questionnaires and in the second part the data obtained from the group activities were analyzed.

The following procedures have been carried out in order to analyze the questionnaires:

The arrangement of the work team in the form of the curriculum committee of each department: based on the meeting of the curriculum committee of the biology department and other fields of education, this work team was formed with the introduction of a representative from the eight departments and the authority of the curriculum committee.

Identification of stakeholders: The biology department interacts with several stakeholders, both inside and outside, each of them can affect the department or be affected by the department. Each of the stakeholders has considerable needs and expectations, the stakeholders of the Department of Biology are as follows:

Departments: Various departments of public and private universities are affected beneficiaries. Suggesting revision of the curriculum, adjusting the syllabuses and determining the teaching method is one of the competences of the departments, which has a great impact on the provision of educational services.

Institutions of higher education, education, agriculture, environment, press and municipalities: Since the mission of the biology department is to train specialist staffs in the aforementioned fields, these institutions form a direct job market for biology students. Department of biology considered some suggestions for the institutions below so that the students, in addition to learning the knowledge of biology, learn the practical knowledge and practical skills needed.

Students: This group of beneficiaries are effective and educational services are provided to them directly.

Graduates: This group is also an important beneficiary of this field, whose needs were taken into the development of the curriculum in terms of providing favorable job opportunities.

Compilation and distribution of questionnaires, organizing group works in the form of workshops with the participation of public, private stakeholders and partner institutions at the provincial and central levels, and analysis of received data. The purpose of compiling and distributing the questionnaires was to check the level of compliance of the current curriculum of the Department of Biology with the expectations and requirements of the labor market and stakeholders. Discussions such as the usefulness and applicability of subjects, the updating and standardization of syllabuses, the updating and make academic teaching resources, and the identifying of strengths and weaknesses of the educational curriculum of the Department of Biology and other fields of education have become more focused.

Organizing workshops for stakeholders and cooperating institutions at the center and zones, the purpose of which is to organize group activities and analyze their data to measure the basic needs of the labor market in the field of biology and other fields of education and provide more jobs opportunities for graduates of any field of education and training and due to the saturation of the current job market. The participants in these workshops reflected the gaps in the educational curriculum, especially in the practical field, and presented their suggestions, which were consolidated and implemented in the curriculum revision process.

Examining and consolidating the suggestions received from the Ministry of Education, institutions and other stakeholder organizations at the level of different provinces, so that these suggestions generally became part of the guidelines for reforming the educational curriculum in the next stages.

Analysis of questionnaires: After collecting the questionnaires, the work team analyzed all types of questionnaires using SPSS software and analyzed the data obtained from these questionnaires.

Introducing the contents

Study period: Bachelor's degree in biology is the first stage of biology education in Afghanistan's higher education system, which normally takes four academic years.

Credits and subjects code: In this curriculum, the total number of credits in the above four categories is 146 credits. All biology departments of public and private universities are obliged to implement this curriculum.

Subjects and categories: Article 2 of the Higher Education Institutions Credit System Bill: "The minimum number of credits in the bachelor's course is 136 credits, and the maximum number is related to the length of the study period of the relevant field and does not exceed 21 credits in one semester."

The third article of the aforementioned bill on the credit system of higher education institutions: "Bachelor's course subjects are divided into basic subjects, specialized subjects, optional subjects and including subjects of university. The basic subjects should be at most 30%, specialized subjects at least 50%, and optional subjects including university subjects at 12%, monographs, seminars, internships, public exams, and completion of the diploma project should contain 8% of the subjects of the bachelor's course, and its scores are calculated from 100 points. The percentage of the mentioned subjects is included in the educational plan.

Based on the above materials and based on the agreements made in the octagonal clusters and the field of biology, the subjects included in the educational curriculum were divided according to the specialized requirements of the field and the requirements of the credit system as follows:

Basic subjects: In total, 27 credits, which constitute 18.49 percent of the total credits of this course, are assigned to this category.

Specialized subjects: a total of 83 credits in this curriculum, which constitutes 56.84 percent of the total credits of this field, are assigned to this category.

Optional subjects and inclusive university subjects: a total of 24 credits in this curriculum, which constitutes 16.43 percent of the total credits of this field, are assigned to this category.

Subjects of practical work and monograph: 12 credits in total in this curriculum, which constitutes 8.21 percent of the total credits of this field, each of them is assigned to the following categories.

Existence of Internship, Internship and field trip: 8.21 percent of total credits are allocated to practical work which includes various activities including: Internship, apprenticeship and field trip.

Suitability of practical and theoretical work: In the process of revising the educational curriculum, a considerable increase in the practical activities of students was found, including in a large number of basic and specialized subjects, the curriculum has been arranged to include both practical and theoretical parts. Also, the independent subjects to increase the students' practical skills include a diverse curriculum such as parasitology, embryology, cell molecular biology, biotechnology, biological psychology, and applied technology, which constitute for 13% of the total credits in the field of biology.

Teaching and learning methods: Teaching is provided in the following different ways;

Presentation of lectures and explanations of new lessons and theoretical discussions;

Discussions and academic debates and discussion of lesson topics among students;

Presenting intra-class questions for bilateral discussion between professor and students;

Mutual teaching and teaching by the students themselves;

Setting up field trips courses to improve students' skills;

Implementation of group work by students;

Individual and group research;

Implementation of individual and group projects;

Presentation of seminar by students;

Role playing (role play);

Brain storming;

Implementation of practical work inside the laboratory and outside the laboratory (field);

Subject requirements and student evaluation criteria.

Attendance policy

The regular attendance of the student in all theoretical and practical lessons is mandatory.

Students can be absent up to 25% with a reasonable cause.

Absence of more than 25% will result in deprivation from the final exam.

Home work rules and class activities

Students' homework and students’ activities are calculated between 5 and 10 marks.

The homework score and the student’s activities are calculated in its final total.

Plagiarism and copying the academic-research works of others will result in the deprivation of marks.

In case of not completing the homework for a reasonable cause, the student informs the professor before the end of the specified period.

Work delay policy

There is no second chance for students’ if they delay class exams, homework and other class obligations. Students can before inform the subject professor about the problem and get his approval.

Grading policy

The way of evaluation and distribution of marks according to Article 19 of the Credit system Bill is as follows:

Assessment and class activity (weekly assessment, homework, participation in group activities) 20% of practical work (laboratory activities, field trip, field research) according to the competence of the subject professor.

Mid-semester exam (20%)

Final exam of the semester maximum (60%)

Total 100%

Duties and responsibilities of students

We will work together to improve the knowledge, skills and behavior necessary in relation to the subject. Students should work together in close partnership, respect each other's ideas and individual characteristics, and give each other equal opportunities. Observe the ethics and principles of behavior that are required in the academic environment and refrain from doing actions that lead to disrupting the teaching process; avoid. To play his active role in the education process by being punctual and creativeness.

Academic dishonesty policy

Academic dishonesty includes cheating, falsifying information, false citation, academic plagiarism, and other activities performed by students. Committing such acts on the part of the student is not acceptable in any way, the suspected student will be dealt with according to the rules of higher education.

The professor has the primary responsibility to recognize and deal with academic dishonesty. If the professor detects the academic dishonesty of the student, after examining the matter and listening to the student's defenses, he will make a decision to introduce it to the relevant authority.

The professor's decision in dealing with the phenomenon of academic dishonesty does not overshadow the academic activities of other students. The professor informs the department officials about the evidence of the event with documents.

The head of the department carries out the procedures in accordance with the law and maintains all the related documents.