Setting things right in private universities
Monday, 1 June 2009
Shamsul Huq Zahid
Gone are the days when rich and aristocrats used to establish schools and colleges in their localities to help boys and girls pursue education. Some people are still found opening up educational institutions in the rural areas. But such initiatives are, generally, guided by political ambitions. A few people, however, are still seen establishing educational institutions dedicated to the memory of their late parents and nearer ones.
The situation is altogether different in urban areas. Schools, colleges and universities are springing up every now then, particularly in major cities, including Dhaka, under private initiatives. It is purely business motive, nothing else, creates the urge of setting up of these educational institutions, which are prone to fixing tuition and other fees arbitrarily in the absence of any official guideline.
A few weeks back, students of a leading private university fought pitched battles with the police in the posh Gulshan area of the city, disrupting traffic movement and business activities in the area. Several policemen and students were injured and some university offices ransacked during the daylong clash. The students vented their anger through street protests when the university authorities had refused to concede to their demands for not hiking tuition fees. However, following the student agitation, the administration of the university concerned amended their decision relating to tuition fee hike.
According to a newspaper report, the University Grants Commission (UGC) fears similar agitation in at least 10 more universities over the issue of fee hike.
The government in the early nineties allowed setting up of private universities with a view to creating opportunities for a large number of students who fail to enter the low-cost public universities. The government adopted a law, which has lots of loopholes. Taking advantage of the indifference on the part of the government and the UGC, there has been a mushroom growth of private universities. The success of the first generation private universities lured many entrepreneurs to join the bandwagon. The sponsors concerned, to be honest, have always considered the setting up of universities more as business activity than philanthropy.
There is no denying that a few of the 54 private universities have emerged as quality education providers. But with the earning of name and fame, these handful of universities started charging exorbitant fees from the students, thus, creating opportunities for the private universities, which charge less but provide education of questionable quality, to thrive.
During the rule of the immediate past caretaker government, the UGC blacklisted a number of private universities, which grossly failed to meet many provisions of the Private University Act. If the UGC now applies the Act in question faithfully, a large number of private universities would cease to function. Such a move, however, has the potential of creating a destabilizing situation. For, these universities have already enrolled thousands of students.
It has been reported that many universities have been charging more than justified fees to finance the purchase or construction of their own campuses. But the question is: why should the students pay for the expenditures that ought to be made by the sponsors of these universities?
The UGC should not have allowed operation of any private university that failed to fulfil the conditions as provided under the act and rules concerned. The lax attitude has helped the sponsors of private universities to reap the maximum gains with minimum investment. Had the UGC been careful in the enforcement of the legal requirement from the very beginning, there would not have been a mushroom growth of private universities.
The private sector has been the engine of growth for more than two decades in Bangladesh economy, guided by the principles of free market, meaning no state control over the market. But should the education be guided by the principles of free market economy in a country that is unable to provide opportunities of higher education to thousands of students every year? Or should the government through the UGC intervene in the matter of fixation of fees and other charges by the private universities?
Moreover, the UGC does not have any control over the academic activities of the private universities. A large number of these universities are offering courses without having adequate facilities and full-time teachers. Most universities have been conducting their academic activities in the rented premises across the city. Some universities have even opened up branches like the commercial banks.
Should the government allow the private universities to operate like other profit-making business enterprises? If it does, then UGC should not have any control over them. And they should be subjected to commercial and taxation laws. The private universities, then, should be made to pay corporate tax at rates applicable to the non-listed companies. But commercialization of education at the university level, it seems, is an unsound proposition.
So, the government does need to do what is proper for streamlining the entire academic activities of the private universities. The UGC should have adequate manpower and logistics to see that all private universities meet the requirements in accordance with the laws and rules concerned and realize reasonable fees and other charges from their students.
No body wants the government to unsettle things in the private educational institutions. But it should not, however, shy away from setting things right for the greater interest of the nation. Every year, a large number of students seek higher education. Side by side with efforts for establishing more public universities, it should ensure that students studying in private universities get quality education.
Gone are the days when rich and aristocrats used to establish schools and colleges in their localities to help boys and girls pursue education. Some people are still found opening up educational institutions in the rural areas. But such initiatives are, generally, guided by political ambitions. A few people, however, are still seen establishing educational institutions dedicated to the memory of their late parents and nearer ones.
The situation is altogether different in urban areas. Schools, colleges and universities are springing up every now then, particularly in major cities, including Dhaka, under private initiatives. It is purely business motive, nothing else, creates the urge of setting up of these educational institutions, which are prone to fixing tuition and other fees arbitrarily in the absence of any official guideline.
A few weeks back, students of a leading private university fought pitched battles with the police in the posh Gulshan area of the city, disrupting traffic movement and business activities in the area. Several policemen and students were injured and some university offices ransacked during the daylong clash. The students vented their anger through street protests when the university authorities had refused to concede to their demands for not hiking tuition fees. However, following the student agitation, the administration of the university concerned amended their decision relating to tuition fee hike.
According to a newspaper report, the University Grants Commission (UGC) fears similar agitation in at least 10 more universities over the issue of fee hike.
The government in the early nineties allowed setting up of private universities with a view to creating opportunities for a large number of students who fail to enter the low-cost public universities. The government adopted a law, which has lots of loopholes. Taking advantage of the indifference on the part of the government and the UGC, there has been a mushroom growth of private universities. The success of the first generation private universities lured many entrepreneurs to join the bandwagon. The sponsors concerned, to be honest, have always considered the setting up of universities more as business activity than philanthropy.
There is no denying that a few of the 54 private universities have emerged as quality education providers. But with the earning of name and fame, these handful of universities started charging exorbitant fees from the students, thus, creating opportunities for the private universities, which charge less but provide education of questionable quality, to thrive.
During the rule of the immediate past caretaker government, the UGC blacklisted a number of private universities, which grossly failed to meet many provisions of the Private University Act. If the UGC now applies the Act in question faithfully, a large number of private universities would cease to function. Such a move, however, has the potential of creating a destabilizing situation. For, these universities have already enrolled thousands of students.
It has been reported that many universities have been charging more than justified fees to finance the purchase or construction of their own campuses. But the question is: why should the students pay for the expenditures that ought to be made by the sponsors of these universities?
The UGC should not have allowed operation of any private university that failed to fulfil the conditions as provided under the act and rules concerned. The lax attitude has helped the sponsors of private universities to reap the maximum gains with minimum investment. Had the UGC been careful in the enforcement of the legal requirement from the very beginning, there would not have been a mushroom growth of private universities.
The private sector has been the engine of growth for more than two decades in Bangladesh economy, guided by the principles of free market, meaning no state control over the market. But should the education be guided by the principles of free market economy in a country that is unable to provide opportunities of higher education to thousands of students every year? Or should the government through the UGC intervene in the matter of fixation of fees and other charges by the private universities?
Moreover, the UGC does not have any control over the academic activities of the private universities. A large number of these universities are offering courses without having adequate facilities and full-time teachers. Most universities have been conducting their academic activities in the rented premises across the city. Some universities have even opened up branches like the commercial banks.
Should the government allow the private universities to operate like other profit-making business enterprises? If it does, then UGC should not have any control over them. And they should be subjected to commercial and taxation laws. The private universities, then, should be made to pay corporate tax at rates applicable to the non-listed companies. But commercialization of education at the university level, it seems, is an unsound proposition.
So, the government does need to do what is proper for streamlining the entire academic activities of the private universities. The UGC should have adequate manpower and logistics to see that all private universities meet the requirements in accordance with the laws and rules concerned and realize reasonable fees and other charges from their students.
No body wants the government to unsettle things in the private educational institutions. But it should not, however, shy away from setting things right for the greater interest of the nation. Every year, a large number of students seek higher education. Side by side with efforts for establishing more public universities, it should ensure that students studying in private universities get quality education.