Feature
Higher Education in the 21st Century:
Strategies for integrating multi-faceted
institutional systems in Bangladesh
Abdul Mannan & Farzana Mannan
THREE and half decades earlier when Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation it was still a country dependent on agriculture. Agriculture produced about 60 percent of the countries GDP and bulk of its labor force relied on agriculture for their livelihood. During the eighties and nineties, Bangladesh, has seen an incredible transformation of its economy and society. It has done well in the management of natural disaster, sanitation, population control, women empowerment and literacy enhancement. However it could not assure development and sustenance of a good higher education system for its people. In 1971 the new born country inherited a system of higher education which primarily functioned in dual mode. The general and technical and vocational education was imparted through colleges, institutes and universities and was controlled by the government. The government through its agencies and ministries monitored the development, management and progress of this form of education. Both English and Bangla were used as mediums of instruction in these institutions of higher learning. Texts and reading materials had both local and foreign origin and research in most cases was minimal. The system suddenly received a jolt immediately after the independence of the country when the government without any prior preparation announced that imparting of higher education would be in Bangla. By the time this decision was reversed in the mid eighties a generation of graduates went through a process of such a system as no quality books and references were available in Bangla that could be used for higher education and as such an acceptable quality in higher education could not be maintained. During this period the country also experienced a development where many children of the affluent or upper middle class left the country for education be it in the primary or tertiary level. Some went to good schools some to below average ones. Capitalizing on this phenomenon some private entrepreneurs started a new venture of offering education both in the higher and lower level. In the meantime, the country also gradually shifted its focus for economic development from agriculture to manufacturing and service sector. Because of this shift and gradual trickle of local and foreign investment in the private sector, the demand for graduates with basic skill and knowledge in English and IT started to grow. The centers of learning both in the higher and the lower section realized this, saw opportunity and tried to promote their institutions (both schools and universities) where facilities for learning English and acquiring skill in IT were available. However the ground reality was far from satisfactory though some did try to keep up to the promise. In recent years the country saw the mushrooming of English medium schools and universities, many lacking the minimum facilities for imparting good quality education. Parents, whose real options are limited, are often compelled to send their children to such schools, paying exorbitant fees.
The public sector higher education system has its own embedded problems. It lacks proper funding, pragmatic management and required infrastructure and academic environment. Because of adequate financial and other incentives it has also failed to attract qualified teachers and instructors. The lack of funding has stunted the availability of proper research facilities. In the job market the graduates from the public sector and the private sector often face embarrassing situations as their competence differ in many areas. Again the private sector education is mostly job oriented where creation of knowledge is practically non- existent.
Besides public and private sector higher education system, Bangladesh along with India and Pakistan also has a very strong madrasa system of education that produces thousands of graduates.
The madrasa system of education in this part of the world dates back to eighteenth century. As the Hindus and the Buddhist had their own education based on religion it was logical for the Muslims during this period to have their own system of education too. In later years the Hindus and the Buddhists realized the importance of integrating their systems with the Western system while the Muslim failed to do so. A section of the Muslims though tried to reform the education system of the Muslims and bring about a sense of modernity their success was limited as the larger section of the Muslim community concluded that anything that is Western in un-Islamic.
Scrutinizing the prevalent higher education system of Bangladesh it can be safely concluded that the system is faltering and is in a moribund state. The purpose of any higher education system should be to fertilize a nation's intellect and provide the milieu out of which emerge the engineer, the doctor, the lawyer, the IT professionals and researchers. If Bangladesh is to be a partner of the growing economic power houses of the region the proper creation and dissemination of knowledge must be given the topmost priority. Under the present system of education this is not possible.
The University Grants Commission, the overseeing authority of the universities both public and private, in its latest annual report published in January, 2007, opined the quality of education in universities could not be improved unless the quality of teachers and education at primary and secondary levels are improved. Nothing could be truer. Education in the primary and secondary level also exists in multifaceted form. There are government and privately owned schools, both Bangla and English medium together with the madrasas. There are colleges and universities both in the private and public sector. The public sector universities are of recent origin while colleges in the private sector have existed for the last hundred years. High school graduates can also go to technical and vocational institutions of higher learning like medical colleges, engineering universities and technical colleges.
Andre Beteille, the eminent sociologist said “universities are not only centres of learning, however badly or well they play their part in transmission and creation of knowledge, they are also social institutions that provide the setting for a very distinctive kind of interaction among men and women and between generations”. This is where Bangladesh's principle provider of higher education the universities, have failed though the government pursued a policy of expansion, planning to open new universities converting some of the former technical into technical universities. However, maintaining the quality of the academic programs in the universities as well as colleges remained a continuing challenge.
The private universities have emerged in response to the failing of the public system but they were not intended to be an alternative to public universities. They can play only a complementary role and fill a gap in the country's tertiary education system. The basic task of creation and dissemination of knowledge in the field of liberal arts, humanities, basic sciences, social sciences medicine etc. will remain primarily the domain of the public universities.
Action Priorities
Students in Bangladesh often compete with students from the more developed countries and do well. The university faculties in Bangladesh are often able to demonstrate their ability to conduct world class research. But these are individual efforts rather than the outcome of a system that is properly planned, adequately resourced and functioning effectively.
The systemic and far-reaching changes in governance, administration and academic affairs needed in university education in Bangladesh call for attention on a priority basis to some key areas indicated in this paper. These include clearer articulation of policy, improved governance and management, and adequate provision for and better use of financial resources.
i. Articulations of higher education policy
The goals, priorities and strategies in higher education and strategies for achieving the defined outcomes in the context of the 21st. century global market, the knowledge economy and national aspirations and values must be articulated and delineated clearly. This is not a one-shot affair and requires a mechanism involving major stakeholders to continue focus on policies, priorities and their implementation.
The structure and content of higher education curricula and teaching-learning practices the balance between specialized and general liberal arts education, the complementarities of public and private providers of higher education, and the links between primary, secondary and tertiary stages of education should be important elements of policy consideration.
Madrasa education in Bangladesh is a historical reality. Though it has failed to serve the national development purpose in any meaningful it would not be possible to write it off in near future. The government has to just continue to motivate, the teachers and administrators highlighting the benefits of restructuring the system and updating its age old curricula. Sporadic attempts were made at times to modernize the madrasa education system in the country but these have consistently failed. No reform will be possible through force. Attempts should be made to make people involved in madrasa education understand the positive side of introducing skill development courses in the system. In neighboring India the number of madrasas is estimated to be between thirty to forty thousand. Except in some parts of Kerala and West Bengal these madrasas cater strictly to Muslim children. In West Bengal the madrasa education has gone through a transformation, though small but very significant.
Madrasas in West Bengal and Kerala have introduced modern education, including English, basic science, IT and in some even Sanskrit. In 2007 five thousand six hundred and sixty six non Muslim students studied in the madrasas of West Bengal which increased to six thousand six hundred and ninety two in 2008. This primarily happened as the graduates of madrasas in West Bengal found it possible to enter main stream job market with education form the madrasas. The madrasa (especially those of quomi variety) should be exposed to such developments happening in our neighboring country.
A total integration of the multi-faceted institutional system of higher education is neither possible nor practical under the present circumstances. Bangladesh is not the only country having such a system. The issue is whether such a system is capable of producing people who would be able to lead the country into a modern knowledge based 21st century. This is where all efforts will have to be concentrated.
ii. Governance management and financing of higher education
Policy-making for higher education must be completely
depoliticized. The focus must be on the overreaching goals of maintaining quality norms and protecting academic freedom in higher education.
Norms of quality and performance criteria of institutions, specialized fields of study and research, teacher and student performance and mechanisms for enforcement of standards and criteria must be established. It has also to be recognized that quality assurance in higher education is possible only through greater self-regulation, peer review and internal accountability, and transparency in decision-making.
Bangladesh devotes a little over two-percent of GDP as public sector allocation for education, which is extremely. Out of this meager allocation less than two percent of is allocated for higher education in Bangladesh. This has to be increased significantly. Expenditures in higher education must be conceived as investment for human capital development rather than expenditure. Such increase in allocation can only assure a continuous supply of proper human resource to make Bangladesh a competitive nation.
Bangladesh is positioned between two emerging titans of the 21st century China and India. Her geopolitical positions confront Bangladesh with great challenges and opportunities, if she proves capable of accepting the challenges and seize opportunities. Development of a system of higher education that meets the quality standards of the 21st century is the desired road to fulfillment of the potential of our young people and prosperity for the nation.
[Writer is Professor, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. Independent Researchers. This is a shortened version of a paper presented under the same title recently in the Bangladesh in 21st.Century Conference, held at Harvard University, USA] June 26, 2008
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