Feature

On Private and Public Universities

Syed Munazir Hussain

I really do not understand this rivalry between private and public universities. It seems that the students have decided to take sides based on where they study and are going out of their ways to suggest that 'only private universities are good' or vice versa. One private university student even pointed fingers towards the incompetence of BUET! Another public university started to blabber about one, 3-4 years HSC failed private university student's ignorance! All this is being done for one reason solely. And that is to undermine either private or public universities. This is ludicrous.

If you talk on who's good and who's not than both has its merits and demerits. For example there is still no proper competition against BUET. Students from allover this country dreams to enter it and work all their life to get an entry there. That does not mean that anyone who gets an entry immediately gets admitted. There are some who haven't got admitted for not getting the subject that they aspired to study in.

If you really want to compare public and private universities you need to do that on the basis of subjects or concentrations. If you talk about a business degree like a BBA or an MBA North South University is doing extremely good. So are universities like BRAC University and others. But there is still IBA that has been labeled by professionals as the best. I do not know for sure but the commerce faculty for some reason is not even considered comparable to that of IBA which some private universities are.

If you talk about engineering, physics, history, mathematics and other pure subjects then public universities have no alternative. However Bangladesh Medical College is doing fairly well in the medical sector.

Instead of fighting and ranting about who is the best I would like to compare the BBA program based on what benefits what can get from which university.

For example in NSU you can choose to do majors in Marketing, Finance, HRM, Business Policy & Strategy and International Business. You can also do dual majors. There are some brilliant students who have done dual majors in Economics and Finance, which is an option not available in Dhaka University.

If you choose to and are competent enough you can finish your degree within 9 semesters that is within 3 years. I know such a student who achieved this feat. But usually students take 12 semesters or more. You can decide your major when even in your final year if you're not sure about what to take. This option is not available for Commerce Faculty students in DU.

The problem with a BBA from a public university is that even if you can choose your major you have to take all concentration courses that are offered. In private universities you can choose optional major courses depending on the area of expertise you want to enter.

Grades are not that easy to get. There has been this rule that you cannot give more than a certain number of A/A-. For example I got 92.7 in my strategic management course and hoped to get an A as 93 stands for an A. But the Business department dean ordered my faculty not to give more than 2 to 3 A's and he automatically downgraded everyone! Which made my strong A- that was a potential A, a meager B plus!

If you are talking about rich kids studying in private universities I can tell you this much. Everyone who has got the opportunity to study at the university level in Bangladesh is lucky to get the opportunity to have had parents who did not send them to earn money on the streets when they were 10 or 11 years old. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries and we are all blessed to have had the opportunity to study in wherever we are. It is not true that only rich kids study in public universities. I personally know a student in BRAC University to have come from BRAC's rural education program. He had studied in the BRAC School when he was a kid and by his own merit has reached the university level. BRAC is offering him free studentship and is even helping him with a special English program to develop.

Believe it or not 95% of students in the BBA program of IBA are all from Dhaka. The ones who are not from Dhaka are ex-cadets. You most certainly will find much more Chatigaiyas or Sylhetis in NSU or any other private university. I would like to conclude by saying that both private universities and public universities are not spending enough on research which is why this country is not being able to keep the people who are migrating elsewhere as they get better facilities for such opportunities there.

BBA student, North South University