Tributes to NSU founder VC Muslehuddin Ahmad
Sunday, 23 September 2012
Munir Quddus
Muslehuddin Ahmad, former secretary to the Government of Bangladesh, ambassador, and the founder vice chancellor of North South University passed away on Tuesday, September 11, 2012. Mr. Ahmad who was 80 eighty years old had earlier suffered from a stroke and was hospitalized. May Allah bless his soul and give his family and friends the strength to bear the loss.
Mr. Ahmad was born on December 1, 1932 in the village of Bhelanagor in Brahmanbaria in a family of educators. After completing his Masters degree from the University of Punjab (Government College, Lahore), he started his career as a lecturer in Dhaka University in 1953. Three years later he joined the Civil Service through the Central Superior Service exam. After a long and distinguished career that spanned 35 years in which he served as a Secretary to the Government and as a Bangladesh Ambassador, he retired in 1990. During his tenure with the Bangladesh Foreign Service, he served in a number of senior positions in Stockholm, Paris and Geneva, and eventually as the Ambassador to Romania. He also served as the first chairman of Bangladesh Biman. In these many roles, he was often a pioneer and a builder. Mr. Ahmad was also a keen student of politics and international affairs with a deep understanding of the Palestine-Israel issue, a subject on which he lectured and wrote. His 2010 book, The Promised Land? A Perspective on Palestine-Israeli Conflict, was published by AuthorHouse and is available on Amazon.com.
Although, Mr. Ahmad had a distinguished record of public service, many will agree that his most lasting contribution to Bangladesh was his pioneering work in establishing the first government approved private university in Bangladesh - North South University (NSU). Officially the institution came into existence on November 5, 1992, when the Education Minister, Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar approved the establishment of the new private university with Mr. Ahmad as its founding President, based on the recommendations of the Board of Governors of NSU. This became possible after the Bangladesh Parliament passed a new legislation, The Private University Act of 1992, allowing the private sector to establish non-profit institutions of higher learning with governmental approval. The graduates would be able to compete in civil service exams and apply for government jobs, as well as those in the private sector.
The date lives in my memory as I had the good fortune to accompany Mr. Ahmad to the minister's office at the secretariat. Mr. Ahmad's book (2004), The Tale of the First Private University of Bangladesh: North South University, traces in great details the genesis and early history of events that led to this institution, and its later trial and tribulations. Today NSU is among the largest and most prestigious private university in Bangladesh, credit goes to a great extent to Mr. Ahmad's early vision, principles and leadership. The idea of setting up private universities in Bangladesh has been around for some time - Mr. Ahmad credits his older son Dr. Junaid Kamal for implementing this in concrete terms (Junaid's article was published in August 1988) - and was a remarkable homegrown response to the perennial problems of delayed semesters, growing middle class and economic prosperity, frequent campus closings from students' involvement with national politics, and crowding in public universities in Bangladesh.
Today Bangladesh is ahead of many nations in similar situations, notably Pakistan, in the size and quality of the private university sector. To be sure not all of these institutions are of good quality, in fact some are of poor quality, but the best ones are solid and well-recognized. The challenge is to take good universities like NSU, Independent, East West, and BRAC - among others - and build them into top ranked universities in Asia. In later years after his departure from NSU, Mr. Ahmad would occasionally contact me and my colleague Professor Salim Rashid about his work in establishing an accrediting body specifically to enhance and preserve standards in private universities. He was passionate about ensuring a bright future for private universities in Bangladesh.
Unfortunately, Bangladesh is behind on this count compared to the more developed nations which have a longer history of private universities. On the positive side, with its rich pool of academics and educators at home and abroad, Bangladesh is well poised to achieve this goal in the near future. However, there must be public- private partnership in this. Back in 1992, a number of educators and civil society leaders were thinking of this at the same time, and very quickly after the Parliament passed the new legislation, The Private University Act of 1992, we witnessed a flowering of institutions in the country. Because of this development, many thousands of young people have received the benefit of higher education, who otherwise may have gone abroad (back in 1992 nearly 60,000 Bangladeshis were studying in India) or not attended a university at all. Although, as must be the case, the establishment of the country's first private university was truly a team effort (in his book, Mr. Ahmad gives credit to many in both the private and the public sector, for helping him take what was essentially a dream to reality), there is little doubt in my mind that without the driving force and tenacity of Mr. Ahmad's personality, his wide and influential circle of friends and contacts and his family support, the process would have taken much longer. For this, the nation owes a debt of gratitude to this remarkable man, someone who in my view has claim to be known as the father of the private university movement in Bangladesh.
Dr. Munir Quddus is professor of
economics and dean of the College of Business at Prairie View A&M University near Houston, TX.
In 1992-1993, he served as the first Chief Academic Officer at
North South University,
email: munirtasmina@sbcglobal.net
Muslehuddin Ahmad, former secretary to the Government of Bangladesh, ambassador, and the founder vice chancellor of North South University passed away on Tuesday, September 11, 2012. Mr. Ahmad who was 80 eighty years old had earlier suffered from a stroke and was hospitalized. May Allah bless his soul and give his family and friends the strength to bear the loss.
Mr. Ahmad was born on December 1, 1932 in the village of Bhelanagor in Brahmanbaria in a family of educators. After completing his Masters degree from the University of Punjab (Government College, Lahore), he started his career as a lecturer in Dhaka University in 1953. Three years later he joined the Civil Service through the Central Superior Service exam. After a long and distinguished career that spanned 35 years in which he served as a Secretary to the Government and as a Bangladesh Ambassador, he retired in 1990. During his tenure with the Bangladesh Foreign Service, he served in a number of senior positions in Stockholm, Paris and Geneva, and eventually as the Ambassador to Romania. He also served as the first chairman of Bangladesh Biman. In these many roles, he was often a pioneer and a builder. Mr. Ahmad was also a keen student of politics and international affairs with a deep understanding of the Palestine-Israel issue, a subject on which he lectured and wrote. His 2010 book, The Promised Land? A Perspective on Palestine-Israeli Conflict, was published by AuthorHouse and is available on Amazon.com.
Although, Mr. Ahmad had a distinguished record of public service, many will agree that his most lasting contribution to Bangladesh was his pioneering work in establishing the first government approved private university in Bangladesh - North South University (NSU). Officially the institution came into existence on November 5, 1992, when the Education Minister, Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar approved the establishment of the new private university with Mr. Ahmad as its founding President, based on the recommendations of the Board of Governors of NSU. This became possible after the Bangladesh Parliament passed a new legislation, The Private University Act of 1992, allowing the private sector to establish non-profit institutions of higher learning with governmental approval. The graduates would be able to compete in civil service exams and apply for government jobs, as well as those in the private sector.
The date lives in my memory as I had the good fortune to accompany Mr. Ahmad to the minister's office at the secretariat. Mr. Ahmad's book (2004), The Tale of the First Private University of Bangladesh: North South University, traces in great details the genesis and early history of events that led to this institution, and its later trial and tribulations. Today NSU is among the largest and most prestigious private university in Bangladesh, credit goes to a great extent to Mr. Ahmad's early vision, principles and leadership. The idea of setting up private universities in Bangladesh has been around for some time - Mr. Ahmad credits his older son Dr. Junaid Kamal for implementing this in concrete terms (Junaid's article was published in August 1988) - and was a remarkable homegrown response to the perennial problems of delayed semesters, growing middle class and economic prosperity, frequent campus closings from students' involvement with national politics, and crowding in public universities in Bangladesh.
Today Bangladesh is ahead of many nations in similar situations, notably Pakistan, in the size and quality of the private university sector. To be sure not all of these institutions are of good quality, in fact some are of poor quality, but the best ones are solid and well-recognized. The challenge is to take good universities like NSU, Independent, East West, and BRAC - among others - and build them into top ranked universities in Asia. In later years after his departure from NSU, Mr. Ahmad would occasionally contact me and my colleague Professor Salim Rashid about his work in establishing an accrediting body specifically to enhance and preserve standards in private universities. He was passionate about ensuring a bright future for private universities in Bangladesh.
Unfortunately, Bangladesh is behind on this count compared to the more developed nations which have a longer history of private universities. On the positive side, with its rich pool of academics and educators at home and abroad, Bangladesh is well poised to achieve this goal in the near future. However, there must be public- private partnership in this. Back in 1992, a number of educators and civil society leaders were thinking of this at the same time, and very quickly after the Parliament passed the new legislation, The Private University Act of 1992, we witnessed a flowering of institutions in the country. Because of this development, many thousands of young people have received the benefit of higher education, who otherwise may have gone abroad (back in 1992 nearly 60,000 Bangladeshis were studying in India) or not attended a university at all. Although, as must be the case, the establishment of the country's first private university was truly a team effort (in his book, Mr. Ahmad gives credit to many in both the private and the public sector, for helping him take what was essentially a dream to reality), there is little doubt in my mind that without the driving force and tenacity of Mr. Ahmad's personality, his wide and influential circle of friends and contacts and his family support, the process would have taken much longer. For this, the nation owes a debt of gratitude to this remarkable man, someone who in my view has claim to be known as the father of the private university movement in Bangladesh.
Dr. Munir Quddus is professor of
economics and dean of the College of Business at Prairie View A&M University near Houston, TX.
In 1992-1993, he served as the first Chief Academic Officer at
North South University,
email: munirtasmina@sbcglobal.net