Private varsities lag on quality
Quality education and good governance remain major challenges for Bangladesh’s higher education sector, especially in the private universities where leadership gaps, inadequate research and weak institutional management continues to affect the standing of the country’s universities in global rankings.
Educationists say a university’s quality cannot be measured simply by the size of its buildings or whether it has shifted to a permanent campus.
Strong academic leadership, qualified faculty engaged in research, adequate research funding, international publications, modern libraries and laboratories, sound financial management and institutional accountability are equally important.
The issue is particularly evident among private universities, where leadership vacancies remain widespread.
According to University Grants Commission (UGC) data, Bangladesh has 117 private universities, of which 54 are currently conducting academic activities while fulfilling the requirement of having their own campuses.
However, 30 private universities do not have a Vice-Chancellor (VC), 89 lack a Pro-Vice-Chancellor and 40 have no Treasurer. As many as 14 universities are without all three key office-bearers.
Dr Nurul Islam, senior professor and former Director of the Institute of Social Welfare and Research at Dhaka University, attributed the leadership vacuum partly to indecision among Boards of Trustees and the tendency to run some trusts as family-oriented entities.
Speaking to The New Nation, he said that although the VC is designated as the executive head under the Private University Policy 2010, the VC and Pro-VC often have limited authority because of the influence of trustees.
As a result, many universities effectively operate according to the preferences of their trustees, raising concerns about academic quality and governance.
He said Bangladesh’s poor performance in global rankings was linked to inadequate research, weak research standards, insufficient funding, limited international publication, inadequate infrastructure, a lack of opportunities for graduates and the absence of a well-planned education framework.
Ensuring that researchers remain committed to their work is also essential, he added.
UGC Chairman Professor Mamun Ahmed said the VC, Pro-VC and Treasurer are vital to a university’s academic and administrative functioning.
He acknowledged that appointments to these posts face various complications, but said the UGC was working to give its views promptly after receiving appointment panels and forward them to the ministry.
Private universities now have more than 350,000 students and around 17,500 faculty members, making them an important part of the country’s higher education system.
Victoria University of Bangladesh illustrates some of the governance and infrastructure concerns.
According to UGC records, it has been without a VC since 2022 and a Treasurer since 2019. Its listed address is Barek Mansion in Panthapath, where furniture shops occupy the first six floors and the university office is on the seventh.
During a recent visit, the office was found closed, while its signboard had reportedly been removed. The university has also yet to shift to its own permanent campus.
The UGC says 54 private universities have so far moved to their own campuses following sustained regulatory pressure.
These include North South University, BRAC University, Independent University, Bangladesh, East West University, Daffodil International University, United International University and Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology.
An unnamed UGC official, however, said at least 28 private universities have yet to move to their own campuses despite the statutory 12-year deadline having expired.
Bangladesh enacted its first law governing private universities in 1992, which was replaced by the Private University Act 2010. Under the law, a university may begin operations with provisional approval after fulfilling 10 conditions, including forming a Board of Trustees with at least nine members, arranging a dedicated or rented building of at least 25,000 square feet, establishing three faculties and six departments, and maintaining a reserve fund of Tk 1.5 crore to Tk 5 crore, depending on location.
Experts say meeting these basic requirements is only the starting point; sustained improvement in academic quality, research, leadership and governance will be crucial for Bangladesh’s universities to improve their international standing.
