New universities ‘fail to offer’ quality education

Lack of teachers, poor infrastructure responsible, say experts

The government is giving permission to set up universities every year, but the infrastructure is poor and there is a dearth of trained teachers. As a result, the quality of education at the tertiary level is suffering, experts said.
Without ensuring infrastructure and trained teachers—the two main requirements for quality education—private universities are getting government approval on political considerations or by other means.
At present there are 95 private universities in the country, and as per the 41st annual report 2014 of the University Grants Commission (UGC), 75 of them are running their academic activities.
Most of these universities are concentrated in the capital, though there is a decision in principle not to set up any university in the capital. Recently, permission was granted to at least three universities to be set up in the capital or on the outskirts of the capital, like Keraniganj.
Most of these private universities are teaching the same subjects like Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA), or simply masters courses without proper research work to create new knowledge, which is the main function of universities.
As the government has no control over the universities, the authorities of many private universities adopt unfair means to open illegal campuses without permission. When the government tries to stop the illegal campuses, the university authorities go to court for a stay order. This leads to a long legal process to stop such campuses.
Experts said most of the private universities are not ensuring quality education and rather "selling" certificates by running some courses.
The result of opening universities would be dangerous if the government does not have control over them through proper monitoring and supervision of teaching.
Sources in the UGC, the apex body to monitor universities, said they do not have sufficient manpower to supervise all private universities.
The sources said most of these private universities do not have senior teachers. junior or part-time teachers are taking classes. Some 20 private universities do not have vice-chancellors or pro vice-chancellors, but they are running their academic activities.
Most of these universities do not even have their own permanent buildings, though the government has repeatedly asked them to set up buildings.
A masters student of Dhaka International University, preferring anonymity, told The Independent that the university has set up different courses for Master of Social Science, but his classes are not held regularly in the absence of a sufficient number of teachers.
Md Jalal Uddin, professor at the Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka, told The Independent that the private universities are getting permission from the government on political considerations and distributing certificates without ensuring quality education.
“These certificates do not help students in most of the cases to get jobs. Most of the universities are providing certificates in MBA and MA in small buildings. But many of the students are not getting jobs. We don’t have sufficient universities on technical or specialised subjects. As a result, we're bringing expertise from abroad. Our private universities aren't creating new knowledge through research,” he said.
 The professor said the government should first ensure proper infrastructure and sufficient number of quality teachers. The government should realise that the private universities should not be centres for "selling" certificates, rather they should be centres of excellence.
 UGC chairman Prof. Abdul Mannan told The Independent that new universities are necessary as more and more youths are entering the field of education, but there is crisis of infrastructure and trained teachers. “Universities are being set up, but we've an acute crisis of teachers. Most of the universities don’t have senior teachers. Most of them are teaching subjects which have no relevance to the job market,” he said.
 He also said subjects of the universities should not be the same. The focus should be on engineering, technical and vocation subjects. “The UGC does not have sufficient manpower to supervise all these universities. Its capacity should be enhanced,” the chairman added.

New universities fail to offer quality education

Lack of teachers, poor infrastructure responsible, say experts

The government is giving permission to set up universities every year, but the infrastructure is poor and there is a dearth of trained teachers. As a result, the quality of education at the tertiary level is suffering, experts said. Without ensuring infrastructure and trained teachersthe two main requirements for quality educationprivate universities are getting government approval on political considerations or by other means. At present there are 95 private universities in the country, and as per the 41st annual report 2014 of the University Grants Commission (UGC), 75 of them are running their academic activities. Most of these universities are concentrated in the capital, though there is a decision in principle not to set up any university in the capital. Recently, permission was granted to at least three universities to be set up in the capital or on the outskirts of the capital, like Keraniganj. Most of these private universities are teaching the same subjects like Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Master of Business Administration (MBA), or simply masters courses without proper research work to create new knowledge, which is the main function of universities. As the government has no control over the universities, the authorities of many private universities adopt unfair means to open illegal campuses without permission. When the government tries to stop the illegal campuses, the university authorities go to court for a stay order. This leads to a long legal process to stop such campuses. Experts said most of the private universities are not ensuring quality education and rather selling certificates by running some courses. The result of opening universities would be dangerous if the government does not have control over them through proper monitoring and supervision of teaching. Sources in the UGC, the apex body to monitor universities, said they do not have sufficient manpower to supervise all private universities. The sources said most of these private universities do not have senior teachers. junior or part-time teachers are taking classes. Some 20 private universities do not have vice-chancellors or pro vice-chancellors, but they are running their academic activities. Most of these universities do not even have their own permanent buildings, though the government has repeatedly asked them to set up buildings. A masters student of Dhaka International University, preferring anonymity, told The Independent that the university has set up different courses for Master of Social Science, but his classes are not held regularly in the absence of a sufficient number of teachers. Md Jalal Uddin, professor at the Institute of Education and Research (IER), University of Dhaka, told The Independent that the private universities are getting permission from the government on political considerations and distributing certificates without ensuring quality education. These certificates do not help students in most of the cases to get jobs. Most of the universities are providing certificates in MBA and MA in small buildings. But many of the students are not getting jobs. We dont have sufficient universities on technical or specialised subjects. As a result, were bringing expertise from abroad. Our private universities arent creating new knowledge through research, he said. The professor said the government should first ensure proper infrastructure and sufficient number of quality teachers. The government should realise that the private universities should not be centres for selling certificates, rather they should be centres of excellence. UGC chairman Prof. Abdul Mannan told The Independent that new universities are necessary as more and more youths are entering the field of education, but there is crisis of infrastructure and trained teachers. Universities are being set up, but weve an acute crisis of teachers. Most of the universities dont have senior teachers. Most of them are teaching subjects which have no relevance to the job market, he said. He also said subjects of the universities should not be the same. The focus should be on engineering, technical and vocation subjects. The UGC does not have sufficient manpower to supervise all these universities. Its capacity should be enhanced, the chairman added.