The Private Sector needs to become an engine of change in the

Bangladeshi Higher Education

Dr. P R Datta FCIM, FCMI

Executive Chair, Academy of Business & Retail Management, UK
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Business and Retail Management Research- A SCOPUS Indexed
& SCIMAGO Ranked Journal

Mark T. Jones BA (Hons), FABRM

Consultant Futurist
Editor-in-Chief – International Journal of Higher Education Management

For those prepared to look as well as see there are many signs that Bangladesh is on an
upward trajectory economically. Healthy levels of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) continue
to flow into the country, and orders for Bangladeshi-made goods remain buoyant. Taken as
a whole; the picture is encouraging, with the country’s Gross Domestic Product in 2016
calculated to have been US$ 221.4 billion (Source: World Bank). Whilst these GDP figures are
certainly encouraging, there is no room for complacency, doubly so when one compares
Bangladesh (population 163 million) with the island nation of Singapore (population 5.6
million). Incredibly, Singapore’s GDP in 2016 was US$ 297.4 billion (Source: World Bank).
Singapore offers an Asian example of what works well, and there is much that Bangladesh
should do in seeking to emulate its success. Currently Singapore invests 1% of its GDP in
Research & Development and has committed to raising this investment level to 3%.
Singapore’s tax incentives in respect of R&D are some of the best in the world. Another
essential component in Singapore’s success story has been its focus on education and the
drive to ensure that it has a highly-skilled work force. Both public and private educational
institutions are actively encouraged to play a central role in national development and well-
being. Singapore attributes much of its success to having an ambitious education system,
that seeks to maximise the potential of every citizen, not merely the richest 10%. Publicly
funded institutions are expected to main high standards across all fields of endeavour,
whilst the private sector strives to create global centres of innovation and excellence. Thus
far Singapore appears to have found a wining formula, one where both public and private
sector institutions are playing their part, each seeking to meet the needs of the country as
whole.

Bangladesh has had a noble record with respect to education, and especially the store it has
set by the importance of language and culture. Regardless of various political events there
has been an appreciation of the centrality of education to both the economy and to life in
general. Publicly funded higher education institutions have played a generally positive role
in the life of the nation, but in recent decades it has been the private sector that has begun to
meet various of the needs with respect to ensuring Bangladesh holds onto many of its
brightest citizens and enables them to grow and prosper. Thus, the primary focus of this
article is to explore where things are at with the private higher education sector in
Bangladesh, and what needs to be done to ensure that Bangladesh thrives to such a degree
that it too can enjoy the levels of national and international success that the people of
Singapore do.

As is often the way, Bangladesh was ahead of a number of its immediate neighbours when it
came to liberalising its tertiary education sector. In the 1980s the idea of permitting private
universities was first mooted, and this finally came into being with the Private University
Act (1992). This was a bold and some might say courageous initiative, one that has
transformed education provision in Bangladesh and has played a key part in the country’s
economic development. Initially the conditions for the founding of a private higher
education were thus:
“a) the Grants Commission shall give its prior approval of a plan concerning its teaching
programme; b) it shall in the initial stages have no less than two Faculties; c) every Faculty
shall have such number of pedagogically competent specialist subject teachers as the Grants
Commission may approve of; d) it shall have a reserved fund of no less than ten million
Takas, which shall be deposited at a nationalized bank; e) it shall have a balanced and dense
syllabus, approved by the Grants Commission; f) it shall reserve five per cent of the total
number of seats fixed for the admission of students for the admission of indigent or gifted
students, and all such students shall have opportunity to study without paying fees; g) the
scale of pay of the teachers and the rate of the pay to be paid by the students shall be clearly
stated.”

Subsequently, the financial bond required has been revised upwards, but essentially these
criteria remain the same. Since PUA and the establishment of North South University (NSU)
the private higher education sector has grown year on year. It has helped meet some of the
need from local students, particularly those from the more affluent sections of society. Such
has been the proliferation of private higher education institutions that currently there are 95
of them compared to 37 in the public sector. The courses they offer generally market friendly
courses, primarily in English Language, Business Administration and Information
Technology. Levels of employability for students is high, and as a rule student satisfaction
levels are higher than those in the public sector. The very best of the private sector
institutions offer value for money, but still the fees are such that they remain well out of
reach of the quarter a million Bangladeshis who matriculate with their Higher Secondary
School Certificate every year.

Whilst the Private Higher Education Sector appears to be in robust health, there are some
discordant voices. Various stakeholders, including parents, students and educational
practitioners have voiced concerns about the lack of innovation in teaching and lecturing
methodology. Certain education specialists feel the sector has yet to develop a global
ambition that sees it recruiting international academics and being able to attract a percentage
of students from outside Bangladesh. Compared with other comparable economies the
range of courses on offer in the private sector is somewhat limited. There are also questions
that need to be asked about to what extent academics in the private sector are encouraged to
engage in meaningful research that results in academic papers being published in reputable
international academic journals. Rather than seeking to differentiate themselves, if anything
the greatest criticism that can be levelled at the Private Higher Education Sector in
Bangladesh is the remarkable degree of uniformity. Herein lies an opportunity. In other
parts of the world it has often the Private Sector that has been at the forefront of innovation,
partly out of the desire to discover a unique selling point. In the United Kingdom for
example the University of Buckingham (www.buckingham.ac.uk) pioneered an intensive
two-year degree programme that has been hugely successful. Other private sector
educational institutions have sought to mark their difference by offering programmes such
as maritime engineering, cyber security, fashion & design and psychology. The best
institutions are not only committed to offering undergraduate and vocational programmes
but see the value in ensuring that postgraduate studies are integral to the character of the
institution. There will always be some private providers who put profit before everything,
but in truth the very best institutions are those taking a holistic approach, one that sees all
academic staff play an active part in pedagogy.
As the private sector matures it should be actively campaigning for the establishment of a
Bangladesh Higher Education Research Council, one that helps maintain academic rigor and
quality control in respect of both the public and private sector. The private sector should
aspire to be at the forefront of innovation, whilst also being a vehicle and showcase for the
very best of home grown ideas as well as those from across the world. Bangladesh needs to
be willing to learn from institutions such as the Singapore Institute of Management
(www.sim.edu.sg), whilst also recognising the remarkable untapped pool of talent that it
has in its midst. If Bangladesh is to prosper as a nation it is imperative that the Private
Higher Education Sector makes greater effort to appeal to and be accessible to a much
broader section of society. Many more scholarships and bursaries are required, and these in
turn will enable the sector to access the brightest and best regardless of their background.
Equally, both the public and private sector would benefit from greatest transparency and
openness. The Private Sector is well placed to take the lead in forging partnerships with
industry, with public providers and with specialist centres internationally. At all times the
emphasis needs to be on excellence. If quality is central to all endeavours the Private Higher
Education Sector will be well placed to help generate a national renaissance, one that will
yield dividends not only in terms of greater prosperity, but also in respect of social cohesion
and national well-being.