Online universities for Bangladesh
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Prof. Lutfor Rahman
THOUSANDS of students come from the villages to the capital city to study in universities. Besides the public universities, the capital city hosts 45 private universities with more than two hundred campuses at different locations. But the private universities do not have dormitories or residential halls for the students. As such, many students are compelled to put up where they can, sometimes in very unhygienic conditions, in the city. They mainly come from poor and middle class farm families.
Many guardians cannot afford to continue with their children's higher education in private universities because they charge high tuition fees. The residents of the neighbourhoods, which host the universities, naturally feel disturbed by the activities, not expected in a residential area. It is not unusual for them to consider it as an abnormal growth in the city area, they had chosen to live in, due to its quiet character.
The quiet is gone. The neighbourhoods lost their residential character. But what is the solution to the growing problems? Yes, a remedy is there. But it could make private universities irrelevant. In that case, the University Grants Commission (UGC) will have to confirm its activities to the public universities alone for which it was set up.
As the scientists say, "for every problem there is a technological solution". For the hundreds of millions of people around the world, higher education remains a dream. They are constrained by finances, the lack of institutions in their region, or they are not able to leave home to study at a university for personal reasons. In such situations, an online university can allow the learners to study from home and at minimal cost by using open-source technology, open course materials, e-learning methods and peer-to-peer teaching. In other words, online universities can provide a solution to the problem.
Many online universities are already functioning across the world. And Bangladesh is not outside the world. Why should it be impossible in Bangladesh? Students from many countries with high school diplomas and a sufficient proficiency in English have registered with open universities which charge students about Tk 1000 as registration plus a processing fee for every test, ranging from Tk 700 to Tk 7000. They charge no tuition fee. As they have no fixed campuses in big buildings, they can hold classes anywhere.
Campus-based universities failed to be innovative because of their monopoly in education. Anyone can access online lectures of the campus-less universities from anywhere and for free. Course materials can be shared between universities, science labs. are virtual, and digital text books are free. All the institutions should adapt to it. Many students nowadays are not satisfied with the old system that requires them to go to a lecture hall following a routing and sit still to listen to a professor for an hour.
It is not unusual to hear questions like, what is the learning model for a university? High-quality, low-cost and global pedagogical model recognises the worldwide presence of the Internet that has reduced the technology cost of bringing collegiate level studies to the poorest and the remotest of corners of the earth. With support from academics, philanthropists and other visionaries, higher education represents a wave of new opportunities, not thought of before. Students from around the world can learn through peer-to-peer teaching with support from scholars. Within the online study communities, students can share resources, exchange ideas, discuss the weekly topics, submit assignments and take part in exams.
How can an online university assure the students' success?
The curriculum, the lessons, the discussions, the studies, assignments and exams. are like any other university. The students enjoy maximum freedom with regard to the location, from where and when to learn. For the success in the final exam there are several tools that ensure the commitment among students to learn.
Participation in each class, a closed subject-wise forum for questions and discussions, is a must on a weekly basis. For each subject, volunteers from the academia worldwide help students find answers to questions. Students are given weekly assignments which allow them to test their understanding of the material.
When education becomes digital and open, the circle keeps getting wider.
The founder vice chancellor of Science and Technology University in Rural Bangladesh, the writer now teaches electronics and telecommunications at Peoples' University Bangladesh and can be contacted at e-mail: lutfor@agni.com
THOUSANDS of students come from the villages to the capital city to study in universities. Besides the public universities, the capital city hosts 45 private universities with more than two hundred campuses at different locations. But the private universities do not have dormitories or residential halls for the students. As such, many students are compelled to put up where they can, sometimes in very unhygienic conditions, in the city. They mainly come from poor and middle class farm families.
Many guardians cannot afford to continue with their children's higher education in private universities because they charge high tuition fees. The residents of the neighbourhoods, which host the universities, naturally feel disturbed by the activities, not expected in a residential area. It is not unusual for them to consider it as an abnormal growth in the city area, they had chosen to live in, due to its quiet character.
The quiet is gone. The neighbourhoods lost their residential character. But what is the solution to the growing problems? Yes, a remedy is there. But it could make private universities irrelevant. In that case, the University Grants Commission (UGC) will have to confirm its activities to the public universities alone for which it was set up.
As the scientists say, "for every problem there is a technological solution". For the hundreds of millions of people around the world, higher education remains a dream. They are constrained by finances, the lack of institutions in their region, or they are not able to leave home to study at a university for personal reasons. In such situations, an online university can allow the learners to study from home and at minimal cost by using open-source technology, open course materials, e-learning methods and peer-to-peer teaching. In other words, online universities can provide a solution to the problem.
Many online universities are already functioning across the world. And Bangladesh is not outside the world. Why should it be impossible in Bangladesh? Students from many countries with high school diplomas and a sufficient proficiency in English have registered with open universities which charge students about Tk 1000 as registration plus a processing fee for every test, ranging from Tk 700 to Tk 7000. They charge no tuition fee. As they have no fixed campuses in big buildings, they can hold classes anywhere.
Campus-based universities failed to be innovative because of their monopoly in education. Anyone can access online lectures of the campus-less universities from anywhere and for free. Course materials can be shared between universities, science labs. are virtual, and digital text books are free. All the institutions should adapt to it. Many students nowadays are not satisfied with the old system that requires them to go to a lecture hall following a routing and sit still to listen to a professor for an hour.
It is not unusual to hear questions like, what is the learning model for a university? High-quality, low-cost and global pedagogical model recognises the worldwide presence of the Internet that has reduced the technology cost of bringing collegiate level studies to the poorest and the remotest of corners of the earth. With support from academics, philanthropists and other visionaries, higher education represents a wave of new opportunities, not thought of before. Students from around the world can learn through peer-to-peer teaching with support from scholars. Within the online study communities, students can share resources, exchange ideas, discuss the weekly topics, submit assignments and take part in exams.
How can an online university assure the students' success?
The curriculum, the lessons, the discussions, the studies, assignments and exams. are like any other university. The students enjoy maximum freedom with regard to the location, from where and when to learn. For the success in the final exam there are several tools that ensure the commitment among students to learn.
Participation in each class, a closed subject-wise forum for questions and discussions, is a must on a weekly basis. For each subject, volunteers from the academia worldwide help students find answers to questions. Students are given weekly assignments which allow them to test their understanding of the material.
When education becomes digital and open, the circle keeps getting wider.
The founder vice chancellor of Science and Technology University in Rural Bangladesh, the writer now teaches electronics and telecommunications at Peoples' University Bangladesh and can be contacted at e-mail: lutfor@agni.com