Three more public varsities to be established

The government is going to set up three more public universities on science and technologies in three districts to make the tertiary level of education more accessible. The districts where the public universities would be set up are Cox’s Bazar, Thakurgaon and Faridpur, University Grants Commission (UGC) sources said. Right now, as per the UGC website, there are 45 public universities in the country. If the three are established, the number would go up to 48.

On the other hand, there are 104 private universities, most of which are located in Dhaka. The number of universities, both public and private, is increasing in the country every year, But many of them are unable to provide quality education as per world standards. They lack proper lab facilities, research mechanisms, suffer from shortage of qualified and experienced teachers, libraries, and have other drawbacks.

Experts say the government should pay more attention to ensure quality education in the existing universities to cope with rising world standards.

They also say the number of universities in the country is increasing but they have no place in world ranking.

A member of the UGC, preferring anonymity, said only providing computers in the universities would not ensure quality education compared to the world standard.

“Our teachers and students are conducting their research using the old methods and old books, whereas the world scenario of conducting research work has changed. The government has to understand this,” the member said.

“The buildings of universities are new but their lab facilities are poor. Even the labs of the old public universities in the country are using old machines and equipment. As a result, we are failing to ensure the quality of education at the tertiary level,” the member said.

The three proposed universities

are still in the preliminary stage of

setting up.

UGC sources say they have sent letters twice to the deputy commissioner’s (DC) office in Cox’s Bazar to get land to set up a university there. But little headway has been made in this regard, they say.

Director of the public university management division, Md Kamal Hossain, told The Independent recently: “We are working on setting up three more public universities in Cox’s Bazar, Thakurgaon and Faridpur. The matter is still under process.”

“We have only started working on the proposed university in Cox’s Bazar. We have sent letters to the DC’s office to acquire land for it. But we have not got any response yet,” he added.

He also said they would start working on the two other public universities in Thakurgaon and Faridpur soon.

As per the Strategic Plan for Higher Education (SPHE) in Bangladesh: 2017–2030, new universities have to be set up as enrolment in the universities would increase. SPHE 2006 projected that between 1,84,548 and 3,69,095 students would be enrolled in the public universities by 2026. In view of a fast growing number of graduates, it was proposed that the higher education participation rate of 20 per cent in contrast to the existing 4.04 per cent would be the target to be achieved by the year 2026.

It was also estimated that between 12 and 28 new universities would have to be set up in the public and private sectors by 2026.

But SPHE 2006 suggested that, in setting up new universities, the emphasis should be on production of skilled manpower in the fields of agriculture, bio-technology, forestry, livestock and fisheries, mining, petroleum and gas exploration, marine fisheries, leather technology, textile engineering, ceramic, pharmaceutical, automobile engineering, marine architecture, oceanography, etc.

SPHE 2017-2030 says enrolment in universities has crossed 3.5 million. Considering the increase in enrolment, the setting up of new universities has become essential.

The SPHE 2017-2030 also says that the government spending of 0.12 per cent of GDP for higher education is quite low. Besides, out of the total allocation, as much as 90 per cent goes to pay the salaries of teachers, officers and staff.

The budget allocation should be substantially increased, if higher education in the country is to achieve global standards, it says.

But experts say the government should first assess the need to set up universities. It should be ensured that they do not become centres for issuing certificates only.

Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Chowdhury told The Independent recently: “The government should assess the need for universities and the availability of teachers. Otherwise, it would only lead to a decline in the quality education.”

He further said, “Qualified and experienced teachers, quality research, modern and sophisticated laboratory, enriched library are necessary for ensuring quality tertiary education. If we fail to ensure that, an increase in the number of universities would provide us nothing.”

Three more public varsities to be established

The government is going to set up three more public universities on science and technologies in three districts to make the tertiary level of education more accessible. The districts where the public universities would be set up are Coxs Bazar, Thakurgaon and Faridpur, University Grants Commission (UGC) sources said. Right now, as per the UGC website, there are 45 public universities in the country. If the three are established, the number would go up to 48. On the other hand, there are 104 private universities, most of which are located in Dhaka. The number of universities, both public and private, is increasing in the country every year, But many of them are unable to provide quality education as per world standards. They lack proper lab facilities, research mechanisms, suffer from shortage of qualified and experienced teachers, libraries, and have other drawbacks. Experts say the government should pay more attention to ensure quality education in the existing universities to cope with rising world standards. They also say the number of universities in the country is increasing but they have no place in world ranking. A member of the UGC, preferring anonymity, said only providing computers in the universities would not ensure quality education compared to the world standard. Our teachers and students are conducting their research using the old methods and old books, whereas the world scenario of conducting research work has changed. The government has to understand this, the member said. The buildings of universities are new but their lab facilities are poor. Even the labs of the old public universities in the country are using old machines and equipment. As a result, we are failing to ensure the quality of education at the tertiary level, the member said. The three proposed universities are still in the preliminary stage of setting up. UGC sources say they have sent letters twice to the deputy commissioners (DC) office in Coxs Bazar to get land to set up a university there. But little headway has been made in this regard, they say. Director of the public university management division, Md Kamal Hossain, told The Independent recently: We are working on setting up three more public universities in Coxs Bazar, Thakurgaon and Faridpur. The matter is still under process. We have only started working on the proposed university in Coxs Bazar. We have sent letters to the DCs office to acquire land for it. But we have not got any response yet, he added. He also said they would start working on the two other public universities in Thakurgaon and Faridpur soon. As per the Strategic Plan for Higher Education (SPHE) in Bangladesh: 20172030, new universities have to be set up as enrolment in the universities would increase. SPHE 2006 projected that between 1,84,548 and 3,69,095 students would be enrolled in the public universities by 2026. In view of a fast growing number of graduates, it was proposed that the higher education participation rate of 20 per cent in contrast to the existing 4.04 per cent would be the target to be achieved by the year 2026. It was also estimated that between 12 and 28 new universities would have to be set up in the public and private sectors by 2026. But SPHE 2006 suggested that, in setting up new universities, the emphasis should be on production of skilled manpower in the fields of agriculture, bio-technology, forestry, livestock and fisheries, mining, petroleum and gas exploration, marine fisheries, leather technology, textile engineering, ceramic, pharmaceutical, automobile engineering, marine architecture, oceanography, etc. SPHE 2017-2030 says enrolment in universities has crossed 3.5 million. Considering the increase in enrolment, the setting up of new universities has become essential. The SPHE 2017-2030 also says that the government spending of 0.12 per cent of GDP for higher education is quite low. Besides, out of the total allocation, as much as 90 per cent goes to pay the salaries of teachers, officers and staff. The budget allocation should be substantially increased, if higher education in the country is to achieve global standards, it says. But experts say the government should first assess the need to set up universities. It should be ensured that they do not become centres for issuing certificates only. Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Chowdhury told The Independent recently: The government should assess the need for universities and the availability of teachers. Otherwise, it would only lead to a decline in the quality education. He further said, Qualified and experienced teachers, quality research, modern and sophisticated laboratory, enriched library are necessary for ensuring quality tertiary education. If we fail to ensure that, an increase in the number of universities would provide us nothing.