The quest for a world class university in Bangladesh
Sunday, 24 June 2007
Fakhrul Islam
MANY scholarly essays, books and treaties have been written in the area of knowledge, education and learning within the context of a university. The continuing debate about the role of a university is rich and revealing. For example, V.H.H. in his book named The Universities said: "the universities were undoubtedly one of most significant creations of the medieval world. Their graduates helped to shape its thoughts to create a mode of intellectual discipline, to lay the foundation for a scientific culture, to interpret its laws and its customs and to administer it governments." Another educationist named Robert Wolf in his book The Ideal of the University discussed four models for ideal university: the university as a sanctuary of scholarship, the university as a training camp for professions, the university as a social service centre, and the university as an assembly line for established 'men and women'.
Philip Rinelader commenting on Emerson's essay "The American Scholar" remarked that "our colleges and universities have been content to develop mere thinkers: what has been lost is the " ideal man thinking", i.e., the conception of the scholar as first of all a concrete individual engaged in the art of living who is specially qualified by his education to bring to bear the sources of rational thinking upon the solution of the major and pressing problems of human existence and of social justice.
In this essay we limit our definition to the role of a university in creating and disseminating knowledge. Within the context of a university all activities in which the faculty and students engage themselves are expected to create and disseminate knowledge. The university bears the responsibility of moving the society forward by addressing the pressing problems for the society and producing the positive thinkers, business and political leaders and intelligent workers.
Very few nations of the world are blessed as Bangladesh is with enormous human resource which can give the nation the innovators, entrepreneurs, and political and business leaders--- in Emerson's term " the ideal man thinking". The potential for development in Bangladesh lies in its population not as the exportable cheap labour but as a creative and innovative force to participate in the new global economy. Our failure to develop these million minds as "man thinking" is a terrible loss to the humanity.
Developed countries made progress not because they have huge natural resources but because they were able to generate and use new knowledge through invention and technology adoption. At the root of all of these are the top rated educational research institutions these countries support and nurture diligently. For example, many countries in Africa and the Middle East are resource-rich but less developed. The less developed countries like Bangladesh should come out of subsistence (basic) education mentality (developed out of years of habit and foreign vested interests) to meet the aspiration for advanced education. As long as the seats of advanced higher education are not developed and nurtured within these countries their hopes for economic emancipation will remain unfulfilled. It is heartening to note that India, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia have made noticeable progress in this direction.
The IT revolution as the most significant thing that has happened over the last decade has changed the world order in an inconceivable way. For example in 1977 Ken Wilson the founder of digital equipment said, " there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. "Now, in US more than 70 per cent of households have a computer. The new economic order in fact is the new global internet connectivity order. It has created a new set of pressing needs for 'human existence and social justice'. The internet explosion redistributed the controlling power and leadership roles to a new generation of institutions and societies. They may potentially emerge from anywhere to anywhere. Bangladesh could be a global power in this sense only if it can give world class education to its talented young people. Talented people are not a scarce commodity in Bangladesh. Why do you think Bangladeshi scholars made significant marks around the world, or Bangladesh army has earned high reputation in UN peace keeping missions? It is all talents of Bangladesh people.
If exclusive attempts are made Bangladesh can compete in this global economic order intellectually and reduce the burden of cheap human labour, inefficient and non-value added export and import of marginally relevant technical skills. This essay starts with a list of things needed to be considered to go forward in creating a world class university.
Need to provide world class education: World class education will allow educated men and women to compete for any jobs worldwide and also move the nation forward. We can do it. For example, MBA and BBA from Dhaka IBA and engineers and architects from BUET have already made their markets in the banking and construction sector in the first world countries and Middle East.
Smooth and unhindered access to technology: Technology is the backbone of the new economy and world class education. Bangladesh is very weak in this area. It needs to be fixed quickly and access to internet must be made available to most institutions and masses all over the country.
Global orientation: The University should educate men and women to compete globally and not limit the focus on the needs of Bangladesh alone.
Encouraging and rewarding innovation and entrepreneurship: The university should be the breeding ground for innovators and entrepreneurs and encourage researchers and faculty members by rewarding good work. The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT,Thailand) acts as the incubator for world class invention and innovation.
No political intervention: Educational institutions that run for political gains loose academically and can never reach world class status. Then it becomes difficult to recruit the best faculty or most deserving students.
Responsible leadership: Transparency and accountability are at the core of individual and organisational success. The leaders at the institutional and the national levels must take the responsibility for the failure as much as the credits for the success of the university.
Political stability: Tune is running out on us. Hunger for political power must lead to the desire for a stable government and not to the path for self-destruction. So, it is mandatory to control political unrest and instability in the country.
No campus politics and outside interference: Campus politics is a luxury for a poor country like Bangladesh. If students cannot come to class for any length of time, then it results in a staggering economic loss. Teachers are paid their salaries, physical facilities are not used, administrative costs are incurred, and students suffer from loss of productive time by graduating late. This must not happen in a world class university. This is not an exhaustive list of things we need to be aware of but are some example. The mission and vision of a university should be to provide quality education for the future leaders of its nation. By quality I mean world class quality, of course. Talents fortunately are normally distributed among all populations in the world.
In terms of intellectual capacity there are the best, the moderate, and the worst. Education should be for all but at the same time the talented students should be adequately served. It is a shame that so many talents are wasted in our country for the lack of opportunities. It is a shame that there are many young people who can pass the litmus tests of global standards and achieve a high level excellence to compete and challenge anyone from anywhere has nowhere go. It is true that Bangladeshi young people are successfully competing in rigorous programmes around the world. They are only a fortunate few. Opportunities are needed for those left behind.
At present there are 51 private universities in the country, some with little or no academic standards (recently 5 were closed due to low quality of education and violating law). Many of them reportedly operate with outdated contents (knowledge); use old text books having little or no relevance to the needs of the society, employ poorly qualified and over worked faculty members at nominal compensation, have inadequate or nominal physical facilities, and copy curricula, programmes and courses from foreign universities. An institution cannot attract top scholars even Bangladeshi scholars with poor salary. Modern and innovative curriculum cannot be delivered without adequate physical facilities, digitalized library and technology. It is an alarming situation for the future of higher education in Bangladesh. In the name of privatisation part of higher education has been hijacked in Bangladesh. There are, of course, some really good ones who are trying honestly to achieve a level of excellence and to provide world class education.
We are very much optimistic to establish a dream university in Bangladesh with the world class standard. For a world class university three things are needed i.e. excellent faculty members, talented students and appropriate modern facilities and amenities. All of these elements can be assembled if available financial support is there. What is needed is the backing of philanthropists who understand the need of quality education and the costs associated with it.
In conclusion, it is evident that the system, mission and the goal of higher education have changed all over the world in the 21st century. In order to keep pace with the changing world we also need to reshape and reorganise our gamut of higher education. To establish such a world class university in Bangladesh which is expounded above, substantial endowment of fund is needed. But such a dream university will make the difference in years to come. Private entrepreneurs and government should accept this challenge if they really want to make the difference and join together in such a venture in right earnest.
Fakhrul Islam is a Ph D fellow at Dhaka University, he can be reached at
[email protected]
MANY scholarly essays, books and treaties have been written in the area of knowledge, education and learning within the context of a university. The continuing debate about the role of a university is rich and revealing. For example, V.H.H. in his book named The Universities said: "the universities were undoubtedly one of most significant creations of the medieval world. Their graduates helped to shape its thoughts to create a mode of intellectual discipline, to lay the foundation for a scientific culture, to interpret its laws and its customs and to administer it governments." Another educationist named Robert Wolf in his book The Ideal of the University discussed four models for ideal university: the university as a sanctuary of scholarship, the university as a training camp for professions, the university as a social service centre, and the university as an assembly line for established 'men and women'.
Philip Rinelader commenting on Emerson's essay "The American Scholar" remarked that "our colleges and universities have been content to develop mere thinkers: what has been lost is the " ideal man thinking", i.e., the conception of the scholar as first of all a concrete individual engaged in the art of living who is specially qualified by his education to bring to bear the sources of rational thinking upon the solution of the major and pressing problems of human existence and of social justice.
In this essay we limit our definition to the role of a university in creating and disseminating knowledge. Within the context of a university all activities in which the faculty and students engage themselves are expected to create and disseminate knowledge. The university bears the responsibility of moving the society forward by addressing the pressing problems for the society and producing the positive thinkers, business and political leaders and intelligent workers.
Very few nations of the world are blessed as Bangladesh is with enormous human resource which can give the nation the innovators, entrepreneurs, and political and business leaders--- in Emerson's term " the ideal man thinking". The potential for development in Bangladesh lies in its population not as the exportable cheap labour but as a creative and innovative force to participate in the new global economy. Our failure to develop these million minds as "man thinking" is a terrible loss to the humanity.
Developed countries made progress not because they have huge natural resources but because they were able to generate and use new knowledge through invention and technology adoption. At the root of all of these are the top rated educational research institutions these countries support and nurture diligently. For example, many countries in Africa and the Middle East are resource-rich but less developed. The less developed countries like Bangladesh should come out of subsistence (basic) education mentality (developed out of years of habit and foreign vested interests) to meet the aspiration for advanced education. As long as the seats of advanced higher education are not developed and nurtured within these countries their hopes for economic emancipation will remain unfulfilled. It is heartening to note that India, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia have made noticeable progress in this direction.
The IT revolution as the most significant thing that has happened over the last decade has changed the world order in an inconceivable way. For example in 1977 Ken Wilson the founder of digital equipment said, " there is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home. "Now, in US more than 70 per cent of households have a computer. The new economic order in fact is the new global internet connectivity order. It has created a new set of pressing needs for 'human existence and social justice'. The internet explosion redistributed the controlling power and leadership roles to a new generation of institutions and societies. They may potentially emerge from anywhere to anywhere. Bangladesh could be a global power in this sense only if it can give world class education to its talented young people. Talented people are not a scarce commodity in Bangladesh. Why do you think Bangladeshi scholars made significant marks around the world, or Bangladesh army has earned high reputation in UN peace keeping missions? It is all talents of Bangladesh people.
If exclusive attempts are made Bangladesh can compete in this global economic order intellectually and reduce the burden of cheap human labour, inefficient and non-value added export and import of marginally relevant technical skills. This essay starts with a list of things needed to be considered to go forward in creating a world class university.
Need to provide world class education: World class education will allow educated men and women to compete for any jobs worldwide and also move the nation forward. We can do it. For example, MBA and BBA from Dhaka IBA and engineers and architects from BUET have already made their markets in the banking and construction sector in the first world countries and Middle East.
Smooth and unhindered access to technology: Technology is the backbone of the new economy and world class education. Bangladesh is very weak in this area. It needs to be fixed quickly and access to internet must be made available to most institutions and masses all over the country.
Global orientation: The University should educate men and women to compete globally and not limit the focus on the needs of Bangladesh alone.
Encouraging and rewarding innovation and entrepreneurship: The university should be the breeding ground for innovators and entrepreneurs and encourage researchers and faculty members by rewarding good work. The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT,Thailand) acts as the incubator for world class invention and innovation.
No political intervention: Educational institutions that run for political gains loose academically and can never reach world class status. Then it becomes difficult to recruit the best faculty or most deserving students.
Responsible leadership: Transparency and accountability are at the core of individual and organisational success. The leaders at the institutional and the national levels must take the responsibility for the failure as much as the credits for the success of the university.
Political stability: Tune is running out on us. Hunger for political power must lead to the desire for a stable government and not to the path for self-destruction. So, it is mandatory to control political unrest and instability in the country.
No campus politics and outside interference: Campus politics is a luxury for a poor country like Bangladesh. If students cannot come to class for any length of time, then it results in a staggering economic loss. Teachers are paid their salaries, physical facilities are not used, administrative costs are incurred, and students suffer from loss of productive time by graduating late. This must not happen in a world class university. This is not an exhaustive list of things we need to be aware of but are some example. The mission and vision of a university should be to provide quality education for the future leaders of its nation. By quality I mean world class quality, of course. Talents fortunately are normally distributed among all populations in the world.
In terms of intellectual capacity there are the best, the moderate, and the worst. Education should be for all but at the same time the talented students should be adequately served. It is a shame that so many talents are wasted in our country for the lack of opportunities. It is a shame that there are many young people who can pass the litmus tests of global standards and achieve a high level excellence to compete and challenge anyone from anywhere has nowhere go. It is true that Bangladeshi young people are successfully competing in rigorous programmes around the world. They are only a fortunate few. Opportunities are needed for those left behind.
At present there are 51 private universities in the country, some with little or no academic standards (recently 5 were closed due to low quality of education and violating law). Many of them reportedly operate with outdated contents (knowledge); use old text books having little or no relevance to the needs of the society, employ poorly qualified and over worked faculty members at nominal compensation, have inadequate or nominal physical facilities, and copy curricula, programmes and courses from foreign universities. An institution cannot attract top scholars even Bangladeshi scholars with poor salary. Modern and innovative curriculum cannot be delivered without adequate physical facilities, digitalized library and technology. It is an alarming situation for the future of higher education in Bangladesh. In the name of privatisation part of higher education has been hijacked in Bangladesh. There are, of course, some really good ones who are trying honestly to achieve a level of excellence and to provide world class education.
We are very much optimistic to establish a dream university in Bangladesh with the world class standard. For a world class university three things are needed i.e. excellent faculty members, talented students and appropriate modern facilities and amenities. All of these elements can be assembled if available financial support is there. What is needed is the backing of philanthropists who understand the need of quality education and the costs associated with it.
In conclusion, it is evident that the system, mission and the goal of higher education have changed all over the world in the 21st century. In order to keep pace with the changing world we also need to reshape and reorganise our gamut of higher education. To establish such a world class university in Bangladesh which is expounded above, substantial endowment of fund is needed. But such a dream university will make the difference in years to come. Private entrepreneurs and government should accept this challenge if they really want to make the difference and join together in such a venture in right earnest.
Fakhrul Islam is a Ph D fellow at Dhaka University, he can be reached at
[email protected]