the encounter

Ensuring quality higher education

It is alarming to note that none of Bangladesh’s universities ranks amongst the top 100 universities in Asia – let alone the world. Most private universities in the country have turned into cash cows while public universities continue to suffer from a lack of academic atmosphere. Higher education is evidently a critical element of development which a country like Bangladesh must build if it is to make progress in the contemporary world that feeds on knowledge and breeds on competition.  The only way a Bangladesh can narrow its income gap with developed world economies is by using knowledge earned by graduates from the universities.
Mechanisms for assuring the best possible quality must be put in place in the various institutions to enable them take a critical self analysis of their programmes and institutional capacity. Quality higher education prepares people for the knowledge-based economy and also provides a stimulus for creativity and innovation. Universities need to ensure international standards of quality and education that is professionally and socially relevant to 21st-century realities. The seats of higher learning must prepare graduates to live and work in a globalised world with equal advantage.
Unfortunately for Bangladesh, higher education had witnessed a long period of and stagnation. Naturally the neglect has resulted in a gross decline–especially regarding quality of teaching and research activities– in the quality of higher education and unfortunately this decline became evident at a time when higher education was experiencing escalating enrolments, declining resources, academic brain-drain, etc.  
The standard of the faculty and their devotion to teaching has come under scrutiny. Also many students not prepared for tertiary education are getting admitted to the universities. The high pass rates at HSC and SSC exams do not necessarily mean that the standards have improved correspondingly.
Jut as it is impossible to construct a building without strong foundation it would be unwise to expect an improvement in standards in higher education without standards in higher education without improving the quality of primary, secondary and higher secondary institutes.

 

the encounter

Ensuring quality higher education

It is alarming to note that none of Bangladeshs universities ranks amongst the top 100 universities in Asia let alone the world. Most private universities in the country have turned into cash cows while public universities continue to suffer from a lack of academic atmosphere. Higher education is evidently a critical element of development which a country like Bangladesh must build if it is to make progress in the contemporary world that feeds on knowledge and breeds on competition. The only way a Bangladesh can narrow its income gap with developed world economies is by using knowledge earned by graduates from the universities. Mechanisms for assuring the best possible quality must be put in place in the various institutions to enable them take a critical self analysis of their programmes and institutional capacity. Quality higher education prepares people for the knowledge-based economy and also provides a stimulus for creativity and innovation. Universities need to ensure international standards of quality and education that is professionally and socially relevant to 21st-century realities. The seats of higher learning must prepare graduates to live and work in a globalised world with equal advantage. Unfortunately for Bangladesh, higher education had witnessed a long period of and stagnation. Naturally the neglect has resulted in a gross declineespecially regarding quality of teaching and research activities in the quality of higher education and unfortunately this decline became evident at a time when higher education was experiencing escalating enrolments, declining resources, academic brain-drain, etc. The standard of the faculty and their devotion to teaching has come under scrutiny. Also many students not prepared for tertiary education are getting admitted to the universities. The high pass rates at HSC and SSC exams do not necessarily mean that the standards have improved correspondingly. Jut as it is impossible to construct a building without strong foundation it would be unwise to expect an improvement in standards in higher education without standards in higher education without improving the quality of primary, secondary and higher secondary institutes.