Higher Education in Bangladesh
The development of a modern society depends to a large
extent on the nature and standard of higher education. Higher education has
enormous potential to promote prosperity in the developing nations. Throughout
the World, universities change the society and remain the center of change and
development. In the context of Bangladesh various Education Commissions that
were set up so far theoretically emphasized on unlocking potential at all
levels of society and creating a pool of highly trained individuals to contribute
to the national development. But in practice these universities are very weak
and do not change anything. Better understanding among teachers and students,
introduction of modern teaching methods and dedication of teachers and students
can improve the culture of higher education in Bangladesh. A proper academic
calendar can bring discipline. Initiate to free the universities from the
clutches of politics can play a lot of the overall improvement of the
universities.
I.
Introduction The development of a modern society
depends to a large extent on the nature and standard of higher education. Thus
the role of higher education is to prepare competent, knowledgeable and
far-sighted people for assuming various higher responsibilities. The growing
importance of knowledge in the modern world can hardly be overemphasized,
especially in the era of globalization and in a global environment which is
fiercely competitive. Particularly, higher education has enormous potential to
promote prosperity in the developing nations (UGC : 2006). In Bangladesh there
was a time when higher education used to be considered a luxury in a society of
mass illiteracy. However, towards the turn of the last century the need for
highly skilled manpower started to be acutely felt every sphere of the society
for self-sustained development and poverty alleviation. Highly trained manpower
not only 294 Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences Vol. 30, No. 2 contributes
towards human resource development of a society through supplying teachers,
instructors, researchers and scholars in the feeder institutions like schools,
colleges, technical institutes and universities. They are also instrumental in
bringing about technological revolution in the field of agriculture, industry,
business and commerce, medicine, engineering, transport and communication etc
(UGC: 2005) Institutions which are grouped together to comprise the higher
education sector vary from country to country. In the case of Bangladesh,
higher education, also called the tertiary level education is generally used to
comprehend the entire range and dynamics of post higher secondary education.
This article is an attempt to address the problems and issues haunting the
universities of Bangladesh and to explore the areas for father enhancement of
these universities.
II.
II.
Higher Education in Bangladesh: The Present Scenario i General Information
Higher education in the public sector is a legacy of the British colonial
education system. At present there are 80 universities in Bangladesh of which
26 are public and 54 are private universities. Of the public Universities ten
are general universities, five are engineering, three agricultural, five
science and technological and one is university of arts and culture, one
affiliating and one offering education only on distance mode. The number of
students in the public universities is around 92,000 excluding those in the
affiliating National University and Open University offering distance mode
education. The number of students in the latter two were 800,000 and 437,500
respectively in the year 2004-05. Thus at the moment above 1.3 million of
population receive higher education in Bangladesh of which 74 percent were male
and 26 were female students in the year 2004. The percentage of female students
enrolling at the universities is on the rise (UGC :2005). Higher education
facilities of the public universities are spread over the entire country, so
that students of different regions can receive higher education without going
very far from their familiar environment at home. Thus there is at least one
public university in all the administrative divisions of the country.
III.
ii
Structure of Higher Education in Bangladesh: There are 5 types of higher education
available in the country. These are: i. General Education; ii. Science and
Technology and Engineering Education; iii. Medical Education; iv. Agricultural
Education; v. Distance Education. In addition, the higher education sector also
provides Vocational and Madrasha education. In Bangladesh higher education
consists of a 3 year pass-course or a 4 year honours course for the bachelor’s
degree, followed by a two year Master’s course for pass graduates and a
one-year Master’s course for honours graduates. iii Number of Students and
Teachers in Higher Education There are just over 1 million students studying at
higher education level in the country. The following table shows their
composition: the total number of students in the public universities is 112,430
while the affiliating National University (NU) and the Bangladesh Open
University (BOU) have total of 777,49and 437,500 students respectively.
However, in the BOU only 84,271 are pursuing higher education studies.
There is no denying the fact that funding from the
government for higher education and research is not at all adequate and UGC
fails to provide fund according to the need of respective universities. The
very amount provided to the universities is mostly spent for the salary and
allowances of the faculty development, research and establishment of new
departments in response to the demand of time. Though presently, the allocation
budget to the education sector is higher than previous years, yet the allocation
in higher education sector is still negligible. This budget cannot satisfy the
demands of public universities. There are universities which do not spend
anything for research. A monitoring board under the UGC can be established to
assess the quality, recruitment and efficiency of teachers. Reward to the good
teachers, internet facilities, modern library and resource centre, and
establishment of human resource development centers may improve the standard of
higher education in Bangladesh. Throughout the World, universities change the
society and remain the center of change and development. But in our country
universities now-a-days are very weak and do not change anything. Better
understanding among teachers and students, introduction of modern teaching methods
and dedication of teachers and students can improve the culture of higher
education in Bangladesh. A proper academic calendar can bring discipline. One
other important thing is that a tough measure should be taken by the concerned
authority to free the public universities from the clutches of party politics.
The government must shift its focus of attention from general education to
science, technology and ICT based education. The Government of Bangladesh has
recently formulated a 20 year (2006-2025) strategic plan for higher education
with the help and support of the World Bank. In the past World Bank’s interest
in Bangladesh education sector as a donor was confined to all sub-sectors but
tertiary education. Hence the fund allocation to tertiary sub-sector showed
remarkable stagnation vis-à-vis other sub-sectors. In the last few decades the
demand for tertiary education in Bangladesh has increased tremendously. World
Bank’s recent interest in our tertiary education sector is an indication of its
appreciation of this reality and the possibility of additional resource
mobilization in this sub-sector. The strategic plan document for higher
education suggests that in the face of a changed scenario of higher education,
quality improvement in the higher education has to be the main focus of
attention and development of science and technology based education should be
given top priority by the government and the private sector in the next two
decades.
MH
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