Business schools mint grads unsuited to job market

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Khairul Islam | Published: March 20, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

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The country's business schools are largely failing to churn out skilled human resources, forcing the business and industrial houses to lean on foreigners to pick up the slack.
Industry insiders say that traditional academic curriculum and poor linkage between the industry and the academia are the major reasons behind the low-quality production of business graduates.
President of Exporters Association of Bangladesh (EAB) Abdus Salam Murshedy said more than 18,000 foreigners have been working in the country's roughly 5,000 readymade garment units, remitting out massive amount of money.  
The EAB chief, also a former president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said in the absence of qualified local workforce, most of the well-known garment industries usually hire skilled personnel from abroad with lucrative salaries.
"Along with the job-oriented academic syllabus, the university authorities should ensure at least eight to twelve months' mandatory internship for the graduating students," he added.
Mr Murshedy said if the tertiary level institutions show interests, the country's top export earning sector is ready to provide internship facilities to the graduating students.    
"It will be win-win for local students and the sector as well," he said adding that the availability of local talent would help the industry save costs, because salaries and perks are much higher for foreign staff than locals.
Graduates of business schools say they find it difficult to get their desired jobs mainly because of not having relevant employment experiences.
Ahmed Rasel, who completed MBA in International Business from Dhaka University (DU) in 2012, said although a four-year BBA degree promises a graduate entry level management positions, graduates do not get what they desired.
"Graduates of business schools mainly dream of building their careers as corporate professionals. Besides, some of them also aim to be entrepreneurs," Mr Rasel said.
But he said in most cases, the graduates fail to materialise their long-cherished dream.
Director of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of Dhaka University Prof Iqbal Ahmad admitted the sorry state of business education and blamed inadequate schooling infrastructure for less qualified graduates.
"Majority of the country's business schools don't have the required logistic support including subject expertise, updated curriculum and sophisticated technologies," Prof Ahmed said.
He noted a significant number of the graduates, specially those from private universities, are either unemployed or "miserably unhappy" with their job placement.
The IBA director also identified inadequate investment in research, which he said is a prerequisite for producing qualified graduates, able to meet the emerging needs of the corporate and business world.
He, however, defended the overseas manpower working in Bangladesh saying, "It's a clear reflection of globalisation. Nowadays many Bangladeshi students and professionals like doctors and teachers are also working in developed countries like USA, UK and Australia."
Dhaka University Pro-Vice Chancellor (Administration) Prof Shahid Akhtar Hossain said unfortunately there is a large gap between the industry and academia resulting in the production of mediocre graduates.    
He underscored the need for a meaningful collaboration between universities and industries, trade bodies.
"Tertiary level institutions, specially business schools, must strike partnerships with national and multinational corporations so that new graduates can gain practical knowledge."
He called upon the government to enact a law, making it mandatory for private businesses and non-government organisations to offer internship facilities for the fresh graduates.  
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid emphasised the need for market-oriented and need-based practical schooling instead of the traditional education that has failed to meet the demand of employers.
The minister also called upon the authorities of the universities to introduce market-oriented and practical academic course contents through bridging the gap between educational institutions and the industrial sector.
Around half-a-million students are currently pursuing business degrees, of which 150,000 are studying in private universities and 430,000 are in publicly-funded universities including the National University, according to the latest report of University Grants Commission (UGC).