We have had two critical but interesting reports about the quality of education at the primary level in South Asia and also an important assessment about alleged controversial practices pursued by some private universities in Bangladesh. The first was a study carried out by the World Bank and the second was by Transparency International, Bangladesh.
The World Bank study of prevailing educational systems has revealed that poor quality of education in South Asia has resulted in low learning levels and is preventing faster economic growth and a more shared prosperity paradigm. It has acknowledged that there has been notable progress in increasing schooling access over the past decade but also noted that a large percentage of South Asian students are taught in a 'procedural' or rote-based manner. Consequently, this is affecting their practical competencies such as measurement, problem solving and writing of meaningful and grammatically-correct sentences. This is resulting in one quarter to one-third of those who graduate from primary school lacking basic numeracy and literary skills. This subsequently hampers them in furthering their education.
The World Bank has suggested that the respective governments need to ensure certain changes: the children should get enough nutrition (it is believed that malnutrition is having a damaging effect on their ability to learn) and there should be an improvement in teacher quality through boosting financial incentives. It has been recommended that the governments should encourage public-private partnership to achieve these aims.
In the case of Bangladesh, the situation is more complicated as we have primary education in secular format as well as the madrassa matrix (with its own different approaches). We also have diverse approaches to education at the primary level because of the presence of English-medium and Bengali-medium schools. This also creates its own complexity both in terms of what is taught and how it is taught.
Efforts have been made by those responsible for our primary education to resolve some of the complications. Secular Bengali-medium primary education having been made free, along with free supply of textbooks, has had its desired impact on expanding education outreach in the country. The general feeling, however, is that steps and measures taken for the creation of equal opportunity in learning at this stage is still suffering because of the rural-urban divide as well as income differential among the parents. There is also the question of lack of monitoring of English-medium schools and their habit of arbitrary increase in tuition fees structures and 'development charges'. The government should undertake a more pro-active engagement, study the World Bank report carefully and try to see whether we can improve our dynamics in this sector.
TIB REPORT: The study (titled 'Private University: Challenges for Good Governance and Ways to Overcome them') carried out by the Transparency International, Bangladesh on the prevailing situation in the private universities in the country has been criticised by those who are responsible for higher education - the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Ministry of Education. It has been alleged by the TIB that in several private universities education has mostly been turned into a commercial venture and that various kinds of illegal monetary transactions take place under the table.
TIB carried out this survey over a period of nearly two years between 2012 and 2014. They focused on 22 private universities (out of a total of 79 established since the passage of the Private University Act in 1992) located in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet on the basis of random sampling.
The report acknowledged some positive achievements made by private universities. For example, more students now study in private universities compared to public universities. This assumes importance given the fact that it is considerably more expensive to study in private universities than in Public Universities (which are considerably subsidised by the state).
The TIB report has particularly drawn attention to certain irregularities. These include: (a) the illegal use of outer campuses, which are kept open, ostensibly as 'admission and counselling centres' despite government directives for such campuses to be shut down; (b) university funds are used by trustees for personal use without informing the University Grants Commission (UGC); (c) bank loans are taken and funds embezzled by using fake documents and signatures in the name of the universities and (d) monetary transactions are made in the recruitment process of senior functionaries and that such functionaries are not always following existing rules. It has been pointed out that most of the private universities are run by temporary or acting VCs, pro-VCs and Treasurers.
The Ministry of Education and the UGC have both come out strongly against the TIB report. The Education Ministry has deplored TIB's 'sweeping' statement on transactions of money for setting up universities and in the appointment of senior functionaries. It has been claimed that the TIB did not even contact any Ministry official while conducting the study or seek their views on any point of contention. It has been pointed out that private universities get temporary approval through proper procedures and on the basis of recommendations made by the UGC. It has also been stated that the UGC and the university authorities carry out all administrative and academic activities and that the ministry is not directly linked to that.
The UGC has alleged that the TIB has deliberately published such a report to undermine the UGC. It has claimed that the UGC has no involvement in the appointment process. Critics of the TIB Report have also mentioned that the TIB has not given details about those who paid such illegal funds and those who received them.
In response, the TIB has commented that the report was not conducted 'to undermine the ministry or the UGC, but intended to help the concerned authorities to establish good governance in the private university sector'. It has added that the primary and secondary data were collected from the Education Ministry, the UGC and senior functionaries of the surveyed 22 private universities.
This debate should stop. Both sides need to have a constructive approach and identify the least common denominators that would enable the authorities concerned to remove existing weaknesses of the private universities and build on the achieved positives.
There are areas which need to be addressed, specially, the formulation of rules that permit foreign universities to open so-called branch campuses or study centres in the country to operate academic activities. It is not that I am against foreign competition. I have this opinion because some of these foreign universities are not recognised as being in the top 100 universities in the world. They are obviously intruding into the Bangladesh market for commercial reasons only.
There is a need to pay attention to the possibility of amending the Private University Act, 2010, to re-visit the existing set of regulations, to form an Accreditation Council and enhance the Education Ministry and UGC's manpower and capacity so that they can monitor activities in private universities with greater efficiency. In this context, it would be useful for the Education Ministry to seriously consider UGC chairman's idea that the UGC should be empowered with executive authorisation whereby it can take legal action against any private university for their alleged involvement in illegal activities. The UGC has already formed a three-member probe committee to investigate the allegations made by the TIB. One hopes that the results of this investigation will be made public, and those guilty, taken to task. The TIB should assist in this exercise. This exercise should pay attention to two other points: (a) the merits and demerits of teachers from public universities involving themselves in the activities of the private universities (at the expense of the students from the public universities) and (b) the need for evaluation of performance of public university teachers by their students as happens in private universities. Serious consideration is needed on both these points.
We also need to remember that the majority of the private universities are helping to develop human resources, saving huge amounts of foreign exchange and also contributing to socio-economic development. They have set an example of being able to provide higher education without the divisive presence of politics.
Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador, is specialised in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance. mzamir@dhaka.net
Need to re-examine education format
Muhammad Zamir | Published: July 14, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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