Public universities fail to attract foreign students
In some respects, the countrys public universities are not performing well. Time was when students of various countries used to come to Bangladesh for studying in its public universities. Not long ago, Dhaka University, the countrys premier university, and other public universities were their choice destinations.
Now the overseas students are now choosing private universities over public ones as they offer many opportunities, including scholarship. But the fact is the tuition fee in the public universities is much less and they offer residential facilities as well. Surely the public universities are failing to compete in promoting their education to foreign students with their private counterparts.
At present, there are 37 public and 95 private universities. Statistics reveal that only 355 foreign students enrolled in 19 public universities in 2016 while the number of overseas students getting admitted to private universities was 1,927 and the number of enrolment of the foreign students is following a decreasing trend. But for private universities the opposite is the trend.
Even in competitive exams such as BCS and other job-oriented tests, graduates of private universities are increasingly asserting their presence. But still now, local students in tens, even hundreds, vie for a single seat in the public university, not just because of the lesser cost of education here, but also because public universities have still some standard, though this is gradually falling compared to the international standard. And we do not want to see the days when local meritorious students would prefer to go to private universities for quality education than to public ones. That would be a real disgrace for public universities.
That is why public university authorities have to be cautious now and ought to put thrust on increasing their standard of education. Universities are places of knowledge creation and imparting that to students. But our public universities, due to paucity or sheer absence of research, are failing to create knowledge. What they teach students mostly come from the superior universities abroad. And a university must also sell its standard to students, local or foreign.
It is good news that countrys private universities, despite their so many shortcomings, are pulling foreign students to them. With better academic infrastructure and teaching staff as well as meritorious students that they get each year, public universities ought to outsmart their private counterparts in drawing foreign students.
