Private University

8/4/2019 Private University

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EDUCATION SYSTEM OF PRIVATE UNIVERSITY

Since that performance of the Private Universities Act of 1992, Bangladesh has

seen a tremendous growth in the number of private educational platforms over therecent years, mainly through the emergence of a large number of universities in theprivate sector. Yet, this growth also has a downside to it, as rapid expansion entailsa risk of compromise on quality and expenses. However, the combined effect is avibrant education sector with a healthy rivalry among the competing institutions.

Private education in Bangladesh is getting more competitive with the remarkableincrease in the number of academic institutions in the country. The ineluctableforces of globalization in this new millennium make this growth path more complexand challenging. Despite the relentless and continuous effort of private educationalinstitutions, quality has not yet achieved at the desired level. The cost of private

education is another dimension to consider, as it is unaffordable in Bangladesh, andmore effort needs to be made if costs are to be lowered. However, the system isproceeding gradually towards greater improvement. Nevertheless, all the problemsconsidered here should be addressed more rigorously to ensure the quality ofeducation in Bangladesh reaches the desired level. This study has shed the light onthe dimensions perceived by students as associated with the quality of education.These dimensions are faculty credentials, the academic calendar, campus facilities,research facilities and the cost of education. The study also concludes that, ingeneral, the cost of education in private universities in Bangladesh is somewhatexpensive due to the imbalance between increasing tuition fees and an increasingamount of financial aid and scholarships.


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40. Victoria University of Bangladesh,

41. University of South Asia

42. Presidency University

43. University of Information Technology and Sciences,

44. Prime Asia University

45. Royal University

46. University of Liberal Arts

47. Atish Dipankar University of Science and Technology,

48. World University of Bangladesh


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Published in Bangladesh Gazette ExtraordinaryDated 9th August, 1992

Act No.34 of 1992

An Act made to provide for the establishment of private universities

Whereas it is necessary to establish private universities in order to meet theincreasing demand of, and to extend pervasively, higher education in the country,to facilitate the access of the general public to higher education and to create in thisway a class of skilled persons;

and whereas several well-wishing persons, associations, charitable funds andinstitutions of the country are eager to establish and manage private universities;

and whereas it is expedient to provide for the establishment of private universities;

Now, therefore, it is enacted as follows:-

1. Short title. - This Act may be called the Private University Act, 1992.

2. Definitions.- Unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, inthis Act- a) "Faculty" means a Faculty of a private university;b) "Academic Council" means the Academic Council of a private university;c) "Authority" means any Authority referred to in, or constituted under, this Act;d) "Trustee Board" means the Trustee Board referred to in sub-section (1) ofsection 14;e) "Managing Board" means the Managing Board referred to in sub-section (1) ofsection 14;f) "Founder" means any person, association, charitable fund or any other institutionwhich establishes a private university;g) "private university" means any private university established under this Act;h) "association" means any association or group of two or more persons intentingto establish a private university;i) "Grants Commission" means the University Grants Commission of BangladeshConstituted by the University Grants Commission Order, 1973 (PO No.10 of 1973);

j) "Regency Council" means the Regency Council referred to in sub-section (1) ofsection 14;k) "Sanad" means a Sanad granted under section 6 for the establishment of a

private university;l) "Syndicate" means the Syndicate referred to in sub-section (1) of section 14.

3. Private universities. - (1) There may be established one or more privateuniversities in accordance with the provisions of this Act.(2) Every private university shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have powerto acquire, hold and transfer property, both movable and immovable, and suits maybe filed by or against it.


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4. Location of private universities.- Private universities may, after prior consentof the Government and subject to the provisions of this Act, be located at any placein Bangladesh:Provided that a private university may initially, after prior consent of theGovernment, be established anywhere in a provisional manner, but it shall, withinfive years after the date of the provisional establishment, be establishedpermanently on its own ground, no less than five acres and approved by theGovernment, and with an adequate infrastructure.

5. University to be open to anybody irrespective of caste, religion. - Privateuniversities shall be open to men and women of any caste, religion, race and class.

6. Sanad for the establishment of private universities. - (1) No privateuniversity shall be established or managed without the acquisition of the requiredSanad from the Government under this section.(2) Every person, association, charitable fund or other institution intending toestablish or manage a private university shall, for the purpose of acquiring a Sanad

under sub-section (1), make an application in the prescribed form to theGovernment.(3) The Government may, after the receipt of an application under sub-section (2),demand from the applicant such further informations as may be required for theconsideration of the subject, and it shall, if it is, after consideration of theapplication, satisfied that the applicant has fulfilled the conditions for theestablishment of a private university under section 7, grant in the prescribed form aSanad for the establishment of a private university under sub-section (1) in favourof the applicant.(4) The Government may, if it is satisfied that the applicant has failed to fulfill theconditions for the establishment of a private university under section 7, reject by

order the application submitted by the applicant under sub-section (2):Provided that no application shall be rejected without giving to the applicant areasonable opportunity for a hearing.(5) Every person, association, charitable fund or institution afflicted by an order ofrejection under sub-section (4) may make an appeal against such order to theChancellor, and the decision of the Chancellor on the appeal shall be deemed to befinal.

7. Conditions for the acquisition of a Sanad.- Every private university has, forthe acquisition of a Sanad under section 6, to fulfill, among others, the followingconditions, namely:- a) the Grants Commission shall give its prior approval of aplan concerning its teaching programme;

b) it shall in the initial stages have no less than two Faculties;c) every Faculty shall have such number of pedagogically competent specialistsubject teachers as the Grants Commission may approve of;d) it shall have a reserved fund of no less than ten million Takas, which shall bedeposited at a nationalized bank;e) it shall have a balanced and dense syllabus, approved by the GrantsCommission;f) it shall reserve five per cent of the total number of seats fixed for the admission


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of students for the admission of indigent or gifted students, and all such studentsshall have opportunity to study without paying fees;g) the scale of pay of the teachers and the rate of the pay to be payed by thestudents shall be clearly stated.

8. Officers of private universities. - (1) Every private university shall have thefollowing officers, namely:-a) a Chancellor;b) a Vice-Chancellor, Rector or Principal;c) a Treasurer;d) a Registrar;e) Deans;f) Heads of Department;g) an Examination Controller.9. Chancellor.- (1) The President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh shall bethe Chancellor of every private university, and he or a person to be nominated byhim shall preside the convocations for award of academic and honorary degrees.

(2) Every proposal for the conferment of an honorary degree shall be subject to theconfirmation of the Chancellor.(3) Every year or at such interval of time as the Chancellor may determine, thereshall, after the prior approval of the Chancellor, be performed a convocation foraward of academic degrees.

10. Vice-Chancellor.- (1) The Vice-Chancellor, Rector or Principal of a privateuniversity shall, after consultation with the Founder, be appointed by the Chancellorfor a period of four years on such terms and conditions as may be determined bythe Chancellor, and he shall be the Chief Executive Officer of such university.(2) If for absence, illness or any other reason the Vice-Chancellor, Rector or

Principal is unable to discharge his functions, the Treasurer shall discharge thefunctions of a Vice-Chancellor, Rector or Principal for the period of such inability.

11. Treasurer.- (1) The Treasurer shall, after consultation with the Founder, beappointed by the Chancellor for a period of four years on such terms and conditionsas may be determined by the Chancellor.(2) The Treasurer shall be responsible for the accounts of a private university.

12. Appointment of Registrar, Deans, etc.- (1) The Registrar, Heads ofDepartment and Examination Controller of a private university shall be appointedby the Syndicate, Managing Board, Regency Council or, as the case may be,Trustee Board for a period of four years on such terms and conditions as may bedetermined by the Chancellor.(2) The Dean of any Faculty shall, after consultation with the Founder, be electedby the Heads of the Departments concerned for such period as may be determinedby the Chancellor.

13. Appointment of other officers.- If it is necessary to appoint any other officerin addition to those referred to in section 8, the Founder shall be obliged to obtainthe prior consent of the Government for the appointment of such other officer, and


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he may, in case that no consent has been received within thirty days after the dateof the application for such consent, make, within thirty days after non-receipt of theapproval, an appeal to the Chancellor, and such appeal shall, if the Chancellor hasnot decided on it within sixty days after its receipt, be considered to have beenadmitted.

14. Authorities of private universities. - (1) Every private university shall havethe following authorities, namely:-

a) a Syndicate, Managing Board, Regency Council or Trustee Board consisting of noless than nine members;b) an Academic Council consisting of no less than nine members;c) Faculties or Schools of Studies;d) a Syllabus Committee;e) a Finance Committee consisting of no less than five members;f) an Election Committee consisting of no less than five members.

(2) The Founder may, after prior consent of the Chancellor, constitute, in additionto those referred to in sub-section (1), any other authority which may be requiredfor the proper and perfect discharge of the functions of a private university.(3) The Syndicate, Managing Board, Regency Council or Trustee Board shall consistof such persons as have gained over many years experience in the fields ofeducation, culture, industry, science, technology and administration.

15. Teaching programme, etc. - (1) Plans, teaching methods, syllabuses andteaching standards relating to teaching programmes of private universities are tobe approved by the Grants Commission.(2) An application for an approval under sub-section (1) shall be made to theGrants Commission; and the Grants Commission shall, within sixty days after the

date of receipt of the application, decide on the application.(3) If the Grants Commission notifies its refusal to approve of a plan, teachingmethod, syllabus or teaching standard relating to the teaching programme of aprivate university, an appeal may, within thirty days after the date of such notice ofrejection, be made against it to the Chancellor, and the decision of the Chancelloron such appeal shall be deemed final.(4) If the Chancellor fails to decide on an appeal under sub-section (3) within sixtydays after the date of receipt, the appeal shall be considered to have beenadmitted.

16. Cancellation of a Sanad.- (1) If there is lodged any complaint to the effect

that a forgery or fraud has been committed on the occasion of awarding acertificate, diploma or degree of a private university, or that the teaching standardof such university as approved under section 15 has not been maintained, theChancellor may have any such person as is or has been holding the office of thePresident of the High Court make an investigation of that complaint, and theGovernment may, if, on such investigation, the complaint proves correct, cancel theSanad for such university.(2) Any person, association, charitable trust or institution afflicted by an order to


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cancel a Sanad under sub-section (1) may, within thirty days after the date of suchorder, make an appeal to the Chancellor against such order and the decision of theChancellor on such appeal shall be deemed to be final.(3) An appeal under sub-section (2) shall be decided upon within sixty days afterthe date of its receipt and an appeal which has not been decided upon within suchperiod shall be considered to have been admitted.

17. Statutes. - (1) The Syndicate, Managing Board, Regency Council or TrusteeBoard may, after prior consent of the Chancellor, make statutes containingsyllabuses, teaching methods, book-lists and provisions relating to the discharge ofadministrative and other necessary functions of a private university.(2) Statutes made under sub-section (1) shall come into effect on the date ofnotification in the official Gazette.

18. Certificates, diplomas etc. of private universities.- All certificates,diplomas and degrees awarded by a private university shall be signed the Vice-Chancellor, Rector or, as the case may be, Principal, and shall be stamped with the

seal of such university.

19. Fund. - (1) A private university shall have a fund.(2) This fund shall, after the approval of the Syndicate, Managing Board, RegencyCouncil or, as the case may be, Trustee Board, be deposited in the name of theuniversity at a nationalized bank and money may be withdrawn from the fund in theprescribed manner.(3) No private university may, nor may any person or institution in its behalf, raiseany fund within, or outside of, the country without the knowledge or prior approvalof the Chancellor.

20. Maintenance of account and audit. - The account of the income andexpenditure of a private university shall be maintained by the Grants Commission,and a chartered accountant to be appointed after approval of the Chancellor shallaudit that account every financial year.

21. Power to make rules. - The Government may, by notification in the officialGazette, make rules for the purpose of this Act.


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University Grants Commission (UGC)

Background

The University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh is the statutory apex body

in the field of higher education in Bangladesh. The primary objectives of the UGCare to supervise, maintain, promote and coordinate university education. It is alsoresponsible for maintaining standard and quality in all the public and privateuniversities in Bangladesh. The UGC assesses the needs of the public universities interms of funding and advice Government in various issues related to highereducation in Bangladesh.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh was established under thePresidents Order (P.O.) No. 10 of 1973 which was deemed to have come into forcewith effect from 16 December 1972.

Vision/Mission:

As the statutory apex body in the field of University Education in Bangladesh, thevision of the UGC is to enhance and strengthen the quality of Higher Education. Thestandards of teaching and research in public and private universities in the countryare the main concern. It also aims to bringing in qualitative improvement in thegovernance and management of the universities by establishing academicdiscipline, financial accountability and transparency. To ensure high qualityeducation in the public and private universities, keeping in view the needs andaspirations of the people and the society.

To develop the universities as centers of excellence which in turn will produce

trained and skilled manpower capable of resolving socio-economic problemsand contribute in economic progress and prosperity of the country.

To organize and motivate the universities to act as change agent so that theycan create new frontiers of knowledge through demand-driven andinnovative research to cope with the rapidly changing globalized society.

To assess the financial needs of the universities and formulate andimplement plans and programs for proper and appropriate development ofthe universities.

To foster national, regional and international linkages and collaboration in thefield of teaching, learning and to ensure exchange of knowledge, andresearch.

To help the universities in staff development, student mobility etc.

Function and Activities:

The University Grants Commission of Bangladesh publishes UGC BULLETINquarterly. This bulletin depicts all the major activities of the Commission and theUniversities of Bangladesh. This bulletin will be available regularly in this site fromnow on.


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The functions of UGC encompass the following, among others:

To determine the needs of the universities; To receive funds from the government and allocate and disburse these funds

to the universities for their maintenance and development; To examine and critically appraise the developments plans of the

universities; To oversee the implementation of various development projects of the

universities; To formulate plants for new universities; To collect, analyze, and interpret statistical data on university matters.

Standing Committees

Different terms of UGC are carried out by some standing committees like:

Selection Committee

Evaluation Committee

UGC Professorship Nomination Committee Rokeya Chair Nomination Committee

Budget Management Nomination Committee

Audit Committee

Library Management Committee

Project Evaluation Committee

Equivalence Committee


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Ministry of Education

Ministry of Education is the apex policy making institution of the Governmentregarding administration and development of post-primary education sector.Ministry of Education formulates policies and programs for the development of post-

primary to higher education including Madrasah, Technical and Vocationaleducation. It also formulates laws, rules and regulations for the management andadministration of post-primary education sector and its institutions of the country.There are several attached bodies for supervision and management of formaleducation in post-primary and secondary schools, colleges, madrasahs, technicalschools and colleges, polytechnic institutes, engineering colleges and universities.There are about 31401 post primary secondary schools/colleges/madrasahs and 31public and 51 private universities.

History of MoE at a glance

March 1972 Ministry of Education, Religion, Sports & Cultural AffairsDecember 1974 Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs

March 1984 Ministry of Education and Science & TechnologyAugust 1993 Ministry of Education

Focus & ObjectivesFocus of the Government on EducationThe focus of the government on education as enunciated in different Policies andFive Year Plan Documents are:

Provide value based education

Emphasize on job-oriented and need-based education

Modernization of curriculum Ensure efficient management at all levels

Strengthen the Information and Communication Technology

Ensure teacher effectiveness at all levels

Revitalize technical and vocational education

Ensure gender parity at all levels of education

General objectives of Education

To inspire and create enthusiasm among the learners in their thoughts,deeds and daily life to establish moral, humanitarian, religious, cultural andsocial values in personal as well as in national life.

To develop awareness in the learners to protect the independence,sovereignty and integrity of Bangladesh.

To make education pragmatic, productive and creative with a view tobringing about changes in the socio-economic conditions of the country andmaking the students into a dutiful and responsible manpower with scientificoutlook and help them develop the qualities of leadership.

To give special emphasis on primary and secondary education with a view toexpanding education, to instill respect and eagerness for physical labour and


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enable the learners acquire vocational education for self-employment in allstages of education.

To promote fraternity, moral values, generosity and fellow-feeling in peopleand make them respectful of human rights.

To promote democratic values through fostering tolerance of one another'sviews and help develop life-oriented, realistic and positive attitude forblossoming democratic awareness.

To ensure proper quality at every level of education; to strengthen and widenthe knowledge, skills and attitude acquired in the previous stage (inaccordance with various aims and objectives of education): to enableacquisition of new knowledge and skills and to encourage people tocontribute in the system of education, especially in the field of primary,secondary and vocational education.

To emancipate the country from the curse of illiteracy.

To create equal opportunities for education in accordance with merit andaptitude for the purpose of building a society free from disparity.

To ensure gender parity in education and remove barriers of caste, creed and

ethnicity in obtaining education. To ensure constitutional guarantee at all levels of education.

To create awareness about protection of environment.

Activities of MOE

The Legal Framework on Education

The Constitution of the People's Republic of Bangladesh enjoins upon theGovernment of Bangladesh the obligation to ensure literacy of all the citizens of thecountry within the shortest possible time. The Constitution mandates the state toadopt effective measures for:

establishing a uniform, mass-oriented and universal system of education andextending free and compulsory education to all children to such stage as maybe determined by law (Article 17)

relating education to the needs of society and producing properly trained andmotivated citizens to serve those needs (Article 17)

removing illiteracy within such time as may be determined by law (Article 17)

Activities of Ministry of Education according to the Rules of Business

Formulation of sectorial plan on Secondary, Higher Secondary and Universityeducation sector.

Preparation, monitoring and evaluation of educational projects of Secondary,Higher Secondary and University education sector.

University education including University Grants Commission.

Technical education.

Secondary and Higher Secondary (College) education.

Madrasha education.

Distance education including educational media and technology.

Educational research and training.


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Bangladesh National Commission for UNESCO.

National students council.

Educational Policy and Reforms (Secondary, Higher Secondary and UniversityEducation).

Curriculum development (Secondary, Higher Secondary and University

Education). Preparation, printing and distribution of text books (above primary education

level).

Introduction of population in schools.

Processing of educational projects/schemes in Secondary, Higher Secondaryand University sector with PEC/NEC ECNEC and implementation or thedecisions of the Cabinet.

Policy directives or holding the public examination above primary educationlevel conducted by the Boards under Ministry of Education.

Learned Bodies in the field of education, research, etc. above primaryeducation level and financial aid to these organizations.

Aid from foreign and international bodies in the field of education above

primary education level. International Organization and other international programs in the field of

education and science above primary education level.

Pride or performance, merit awards in the filed of arts, science andeducation.

Education and welfare of Bangladesh students overseas, educationdevelopment in Bangladesh Missions abroad, financial assistance toeducational institutions and Bangladeshi Students Associations abroad.

External examination, equivalence of degrees, diplomas, certificates andexchanges of degrees, diplomas and certificates with foreign countries.

Recognition of professional and technical qualification for the purpose of

recruitment to posts under the Government of Bangladesh. Educational exchange programs, exchange or teachers, professors,

educationists, technologists, etc.

Overseas studies and scholarship, foreign teachers and students inBangladesh .

Rehabilitation and other problems relating to displaced teachers andstudents.

Recruitment of teachers for appointment in foreign countries.

Admission of foreign students in National Institutions.

Publication of scientific and professional books.

Charities and charitable institution pertaining to subjects belonging to this

Division. Matters relating to the recommendations of Education Commission above

primary education level.

National Research Fellows.

Bangladesh Scouts and Girl Guides.

First appointment and administration of the officers of B.S.S (GeneralEducation).


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First appointment and administration of the officers of B.C.S (TechnicalEducation).

Secretarial administration including financial matters.

Administration and control of subordinate offices and organizations under thisDivision.

Liaison with International Organizations and matters relating to treaties andagreements with other countries and world bodies relating to subjectsallotted to this Division.

All laws on subjects allotted to this Division.

Inquires and statistics on any of the subjects allocated to this Division.

Fees in respect of any of the subjects allocated to this Ministry except feestaken in courts.

Education System

Guidelines for Education

Human resource development is at the core of Bangladesh's development efforts

and access to quality education is critical to poverty reduction and economicdevelopment. The Government is committed to undertaking structural reforms thatare expected to bring significant improvements in the education sector.Bangladesh's commitment to education has been clearly stated in its Constitutionand development plans with education being given the highest priority in the publicsector investments. Education sector allocations are currently about 2.3 percent ofGDP and 14 percent of total government expenditure. Maintaining this commitmentto the education sector is imperative in order to achieve Education for All (EFA) andthe Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Education Management

Education System in Bangladesh is being managed and administered by twoMinistries, Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Primary and Mass EducationDivision in association with the attached Departments and Directorates as well as anumber of autonomous bodies.

Education Structure

Education in Bangladesh has three major stages-primary, secondary and highereducations. Primary education is a 5-year cycle while secondary education is a 7-year one with three sub-stages: 3 years of junior secondary, 2 years of secondaryand 2 years of higher secondary. The entry age for primary is 6 years. The junior,secondary and higher stages are designed for age groups 11-13, 14-15 and 16-17years. Higher secondary is followed by graduate level education in general,

technical, engineering, agriculture, business studies, and medical streams requiring5-6 years to obtain a Masters degree.


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Private University Act: Implementation

In spite of the fact that the government promulgated the new Private University

Act-2010 on July 18, 2010, there has been the occasional and unnecessary sabre-rattling by some quarters and a section of the media with its version of incompleteinformation or facts based on either half or no truth. Such actions createunnecessary confusion amongst the founders, students, guardians and facultymembers of private universities.

The last such sabre-rattling was done on August 18, exactly one month after thepromulgation of the Act. In a meeting at the Education Ministry, presided over bythe Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid M.P., himself, and attended by theChairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and a few representatives ofthe private universities, quoting the UGC Chairman, it was reported in a section ofthe local media that all private universities located in Dhanmnodi will have to be

shifted soon or they will face closure.

However, in the official minutes of the meeting, nowhere had it been mentionedthat any such decision was ever taken. It was only decided that the governmentcould restrict the establishment of any private university in particular areas orplaces in the interests of the environment and security and public interest. Thissounds more logical and rational. It would be more rational if this decision is madeenforceable only to those universities that will be established after the new Actcomes into force.

On the subject of Dhanmondi, many residents of this area (I am one of them) will

perhaps express a sigh of relief if Dhanmondi regains its original residentialcharacter through removal of, first, all the shopping centres, shops, hospitals,diagnostic clinics from the area; and then the educational institutions, beginningwith about two dozen schools and innumerable private coaching centres.

Many of these were established long before the private universities came. However,one will acknowledge that this is neither practical nor feasible. Wherever you have ahundred families living, you will need schools and other educational institutions,along with windows providing the basic utilities like health care. Dhanmondi areahas about a dozen private universities, some on their own premises, of which atleast three have custom made state of the art buildings with built-in high qualityfacilities (UIU, SUB and ULAB). The new Act makes it compulsory for a privateuniversity in Dhaka to have at least one acre of one-piece land (I still wonder whythe measurement is not in square metre per student) to function, but in reality itwill be practically impossible to have one acre for each of 47 odd universitiesoperating in Dhaka.

The government should think of coming out to facilitate the private universities bycreating a zone for setting up private universities like it often does for certain typesof industries. The government has, in the meantime, created such zones for the IT


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and tannery industry and there are even proposals for creating such zones for thegrowing readymade garments industries. All these are very important steps for ahealthy growth in these sectors, but nothing could be more helpful for nationaldevelopment than creating an education zone.

Before going further, let me share some insights into what is happening to our bigneighbour, India, in the university education sector. According to the participants ata conference held last June in Washington DC, it was appreciated that India's so-called "demographic dividend" of a younger population compared to developedcountries is as much an opportunity as it is a challenge. A Wharton Business Schoolfeature on the issue says "the task of meeting global talent needs with an educatedand trained workforce is too huge for any one nation to take on." Business leadersand government officials from US and India at the conference attempted to size upthe challenge and find ways to deal with it.

The conference was organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC).Recognising that 35 percent of the world's illiterate live in India (almost half of the

world's illiterate are in South Asia of which 97 percent live in India, Pakistan andBangladesh), the speakers at the conference drew a roadmap to get 30 percent ofIndia's 240 million school children into higher education over the next decade, upfrom the current 12.4 percent. For this, India is planning to build new colleges anduniversities, both in the public and private sectors. India at present has 480universities and 22,000 colleges. In the next 10 years, it will need 700 newuniversities and 35,000 new colleges. India has announced infrastructure build-outsworth more than US$ 1.5 trillion over the next five years. All this information comesfrom no less than Kapil Sibal, India's minister for human resource development,speaking as a key resource person at the conference.

As India has become the back office for many US multinationals and domesticcorporations, US has extended its hand of collaboration to India to build up itshigher education. Last fall, US government provided a US$ 300,000 grant to itsInstitute of International Education to create a two-year academic partnershipprogramme between American universities and their counterparts in India andChina.

Last October, US officials hosted 50 university leaders from India to discusscollaborations in education. While all these are taking place in our neighbour'shouse, how foolish is it of us to talk of closing down universities? No wonder,previously the Bangladeshi media carried ads of many third grade colleges andschools of other countries, excepting India. Now India has been added to the list.

The more we shut down the more they open. As it has happened with our AdamjeeJute Mills, we closed one, India opened six new jute mills in the same year.

The new Private University Act-2010 took about seven years to formulate andthough it is not totally foolproof, it is much more balanced than the one that wastalked about. Any law will always have room for improvement. Implementing thelaw is much more challenging than framing it. Shooting the target with a gun needscompetence rather than assembling the armament!


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Amongst the 53 private universities operating in Bangladesh, the perpetrators aremany. Some offer courses for which they are least qualified, having no qualifiedfaculties, no labs and no libraries. Some have a student size three times larger thanthey can hold, turning classes into sweatshops. A particular "university" has threeVice-Chancellors, all claiming to be authentic! There is an allegation that at leastone has outsourced a couple of its departments to a "conman" who runs it as hisprivate grocery shop. One has taken such a grocery shop to the northern part ofthe country.

The class loads of teachers in quite a few private universities are extraordinarilyhigh. I was amazed to learn that in some of these "universities", junior teachers areexpected to teach five to six different courses, the pay is poor and the morale offaculty members is very low. They have to punch cards upon entering into thebuilding and do not have any service rules, and the authorities forbid the use ofuniversity facilities for research. If the students do not turn up for a particular class,the teachers lose their payment. This is not how a university should be run.

The enacted law has enough ammo to clamp down on all these and otherperpetrators. The UGC just needs to use them pragmatically and judiciously withoutthreatening to close down any one of them, excepting the ones that have morethan one person as a vice-chancellor or the ones that grossly violate the Act.

The oldest private university in the country is 18 years old and the youngest justfive. All should not be weighed on the same scale for their compliances and normalactivities like opening new departments or new admissions, and should not beaffected on grounds such as not having a permanent campus. I still believe apermanent campus should not be one of the prime requisites for any seat of

learning. Even the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) andmany such institutions of repute in Europe and US have some of their academicprogrammes run from rented premises.

The emphasis should be on whether learning and teaching is taking place properly.Even if one particular university is lacking on this count, the UGC should right awayannounce its name to the public so the guardians are careful while selectinginstitutions for their children's higher education. A few perpetrators should not beallowed to blemish the image of the entire sector.

Though late, one commendable decision taken in the last meeting was on setting upan independent Accreditation Council. However, this Council should do the job of

accreditation (quality assurance) for all the universities together, both public andprivate. This will surely enhance competition for excellence in the higher educationsector.

The history of private universities in this country is hardly a decade and a half old.Presently, about 47 percent of all university students go to private universities.With a 24 percent growth rate within the next five years, they are expected toovertake the public universities in student enrolment. In this short period of time,


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some have performed quite well, while others are trying their best to catch up. Fora country like Bangladesh, it will not be possible to put all the responsibility ofproviding higher education entirely on the government. Higher education anywhereis expensive, and for any meaningful progress to be made, private initiative in thissector must be encouraged.

Bangladesh has been ranked 88th among the "best" 100 countries in the worldrecently by the international news magazine Newsweek. The ranking is based onsuch indicators as education, health, quality of life, economic competitiveness andpolitical environment. Two other countries in the region have done better than us,Sri Lanka (66th) and India (78th). This may not be a very big achievement forBangladesh, but it is not mean either, considering the size and population of thecountry, its multifaceted problems, and the fact that it has been ruled by militaryand pseudo military rulers for half the period of its existence as a free nation. Toimprove its performance, we must collectively take care of our education, both inthe public and private sectors; the other indicators will take care of themselves.

The world is shifting. We cannot live with archaic ideas and outdated thinking. With160 million people living in Bangladesh, there is an opportunity for "demographicdividend." We just need to be a bit realistic and make appropriate roadmaps tobridge the talent gap by making our higher education system and its administrationmore useful. To begin with, we should stop unnecessary sabre-rattling and startimplementing the Act with rationality and logic and without prejudice of any sort.Let the good and promising ones thrive and gross perpetrators be punished.


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How the performance of private university can improve

Ten years back students in Bangladesh merely depended on few public universities

for their higher education, as private universities could not come to the scene so

quickly. Very few private universities were operating at that time, but there was asudden turnaround of that situation as a number of private universities started

operation in a veryshort periodoftime.

Over fifty private universities are now operating along with some public universities

in Bangladesh. The number fifty clearly depicts the scenario that a major portion of

students of this country depend on these institutions to receive higher education to

get better prepared for the challenging life. It might seem bizarre to think that

these huge numbers of private universities are operating in such a small country

like Bangladesh. But for the large number of people in this country it is rather

necessary to have more higher education institutions. What should be realized is

that all these universities must follow proper guidelines, because they supposedlyhave to play a huge role to make our nation far stronger, which at the end of the

day our nation demands? demands?

As number of seats for students is limited in the public universities in Bangladesh,

and the lack of necessary steps taken by our government to open up new public

universities for the growing number of students, a number of private universities

came forward to offer higher education to this large number of students. As we all

know there were some serious controversies for a number of universities to operate

legally, but the bottom line is all these universities have students on board, who

they need to educate in a proper way.

It is not a big deal that a number of private universities operate in Bangladesh; we

should try to ensure that these institutions operate in a proper way maintaining all

rules and regulations for an education institution. There is no doubt that among

these universities some of them try to manipulate students by offering education

which ultimately they could not maintain. When we open up a university, we need

to realize that we have a big task in our hand which is to educate our students.

These universities take a good amount of money from these students, which do not

seem to be a problem as long as these students receive better education in return.

To get better prepared for the challenging life, students in Bangladesh must receive

education which these universities are capable of providing them to a greater

extent. As the whole world is progressing too fast, these universities need to make

sure that they provide their students with adequate education with access to

internet and modern books and journals. It is obvious that many of these

universities do not have these resources for their students, which contradict the

ethical issues as these universities initially promise to get their students these


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resources.

It is conceivable that many of these universities offer false promises to the

students. Some of the universities even claim that they are affiliated with some of

the notable universities around the globe, which is baseless and phony. These

attractions proved to be effective as they bring quite a few students under their

banner, but down the road these students become ultimate sufferers. Apart from

this fake affiliation, some of the universities do not even have good teachers to take

classes but they have been doing their operation with no measure of control by the

government. These types of actions should be stopped in no time and these

universities should be banned in no time time time time time time time time time

time time time time time time time time

When these universities are in operation, they need to be careful about the three

categories of management morality: the moral manager, the immoral manager and

the amoral manager. We all know that immoral managers of companies have no

regards for ethical standards and do not watch out for the interest for others. Many

times these companies manipulate others and do also distort legal rules and

regulation. Some of our private universities tend to follow this principles as they

manipulate students to look out for their own self interest, but they do not know

that they ultimately destroy our nation as their students would have nothing to

offer to our nation after receiving a so called 'degree'.All these universities should

follow high standards of ethical behavior. This is obvious that these universities

would be ambitious and would look for the ways of powerful urge to succeed, but

they must pursue success in business within the confines ofthe spirit of what is

ethical and legel. legal.

There seems to be a profit making attitude all around the corner with these private

universities. Many public university teachers try to get into renowned private

universities merely for the desire of making more money. First of all these private

universities sell them through these renowned public university teachers and in

other way public university students also are deprived of getting knowledge from

these teachers. It looks like we are playing game with the education of our country

and no one is there to tackle it. A comprehensive rules and regulations are

indispensible for these private universities to stop this cruel business that would

ultimately destroy our nation.

Private universities, without a shadow of doubt, can play a major role to make our

students educated to ultimately make our country stronger. But the owners and

management of these institutions should remember that they are not only doing

business, they are directly responsible for providing suitable higher education and

developing human resources. Our government should have comprehensive rules


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and regulations and most importantly they need to make these institutions abide by

these rules.

Reference

www.ugc.ac.in www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de

www.e-laws.gov.on.ca

www.e-laws.gov.on.ca

www.moedu.gov.bd

en.wikipedia.org

gurumia.com/tag/private-university-act-bangladesh
http://www.ugc.ac.in/http://www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/workgroups/bdlaw/1992-a34.htmhttp://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/http://www.moedu.gov.bd/http://www.ugc.ac.in/http://www.sai.uni-heidelberg.de/workgroups/bdlaw/1992-a34.htmhttp://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/http://www.moedu.gov.bd/

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