Feature

Our Universities

Sheikh Md. Shafayet Jamil

THERE is a saying that students are the future leaders of any nation. Everybody believes that they will show the right track along which a nation will continue its smooth journey towards a glorious future. Preparing them for the job market is not an easy task. When a student just steps in the sphere of a university after completing his secondary education, a mixture of emotions and expectations have been keeping in their heart silently from their childhood. But it's a matter of regret surround his mind. They usually harbor the hope of becoming that particular icon which they that his latent talent is gradually tarnished with the passage of time. It's the university's responsibility to embellish the hidden capabilities of its students.

What does the word 'University' actually mean? What are the activities a university should deal with? Research is one of them, which should be the prime objective of any university. The country is producing an enormous number of university graduates without minimum knowledge about research.

We had only 13 renowned public universities in the near past but now we have around 100 including public and private universities. Many of our teachers as well as MS students and PhD researchers do research only for promotions and getting certificates. In this ground universities like BUET and Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) play a major role in research activities.

Inclination of the mind towards research activities is not developed in a day, rather it is a long process. It should be the university's concern to create a congenial atmosphere inspiring a student to delve himself into the scientific world or whatever topic he feels interested.

Now let's pay attention to our private universities. I want to know what specialty they possess apart from creating a good number of graduates? If you take a look on their programmes you will only find those, which have market demand. Lack of research facilities and full time teaching staff, no permanent campus, poor lab facilities have become our modern definition of university.

There has been still a tendency of laying foundations of new universities for the last couple of years in almost all parts of the country while ignoring the need for improvements of existing infrastructures. We don't need enormous number of universities but a few quality ones for which the nation can be proud of.

(Writer is an MBA Student, University of Dhaka)

Note from the Editor, Star Campus
We invite responses from students of both private and public universities on this article. Give your logic-based arguments for or against and try to win the case. We shall heavily edit if you only go for personal attack against the writer. Send your article to: starcampus@gmail.com