Education not of interest to this government

Amid frustration over the quality of higher education in Bangladesh, another report published in an English Daily on Sunday upset us again. It said research works in the Wazed Miah Science Research Centre of Jahangirnagar University have been stalled due to the non-functionality of a key scientific machine. The machine Stopped-flow spectrophotometer was procured in 2017 at an exorbitant price and it showed some serious technical glitches from the very beginning of the operation. Therefore, advanced-level research in biological sciences, mathematical and physical science faculties, is being hampered seriously.
Stopped-flow spectrophotometer is a key machine enabling the study of drug-binding processes, determination of protein structure within a millisecond, and is important for biological faculty. Due to the non-functionality of this machine, researchers at Jahangirnagar University now have to rely on the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission for carrying out their research work which creates extra hassles to them including unexpected delay. A professor at the biochemistry and molecular biology department said relying on others for laboratory services consumes more time to obtain research data and results.
Investigating a corruption allegation regarding the procurement of the machine, the JU syndicate suspended Professor Khabir Uddin, a faculty member at

the environmental science department, on December 8, 2021. University planning and development office director (acting) engineer Nasir Uddin was also held responsible for completing the payment of the purchase. But with utter surprise, both of them are still serving the office blaming each other for the corruption.
It is no surprise that the current state of higher education in Bangladesh is at crossroads and filled with various obstacles. Educationists blame the situation solely due to ill-motivated political will. The faulty recruitment process of employing officials including the Vice-chancellor at political considerations has damaged the image of our higher education in recent years. It not only destroys the administrative order of the universities, but the quality of education has also deteriorated unimaginably. It has been proven most by the recent lower global ranking of our universities. We must save these universities from further de-escalation to save our future generations. Otherwise, we will have to suffer a lot in the near future.