Private Universities 1 Introduction

Education is the key for any nation to prosper and ascend to the next level. It is imperative for a Third world developing country like Bangladesh to meet the demands of the present student population. As a result, the introduction of private universities was apparent in Dhaka, in the early 1990s. In almost every developing and developed countries around the globe, public and private universities run side by side, complementing each other under a fixed system. The main objective of setting two separate sectors for higher education is to spread and develop innovative and standard education throughout the country. Generally, a private university relies on private sources of funding rather than the government. As a result, the costs of attending private universities tend to be more than that of public universities. Recently in Bangladesh, in response to the increasing student population, private universities offering a variety of degree programs have been more visible in the capital city. Any university, whether it is private or public, should have some basic academic standards such as air-conditioned class rooms, good faculty to student ratio, online resources, library facilities and up to date laboratories. In the Bangladeshi capital city, as the increasing student population seeking higher studies grows every year, demand for a good university also grows bigger. Whether public or private, students simply seek quality education. Although every private university promises to have wonderful academic standards it has been observed that some do not. Consequently, the rapid growth of the private universities has led to a debate concerning the fact that whether the private universities are more directed towards profit generation.

Private Universities 2 Background The concept of private universities in Bangladesh started immediately after the initiation of the Act 34 of 1992. According to Ahmad (2007), it was the joint efforts of late Prof. Syed Ali Ashraf and late Prof. Syed Ali Ahsan [former chairman of UGC (University Grants Commission)] that made private universities visible in the country (p.1). Soon, the first generation universities such as NSU (North South University), DIU (Darul Ihsan University), AMA and IUB (Independent University of Bangladesh, were formed and started to operate in Dhaka city. The University Grants Commission (UGC) is the sole supervising body that sets up ordinance in both public and private universities. The UGC can be considered as the only formal regulator of the higher education sector in Bangladesh (Wadood, 2006. p.6). It is primarily run by leading educationists in the country. The UGC acts as a quality monitoring cell for private universities. It sees to the fact that whether the private universities are actually maintaining the rules and regulations under the Act 34 of 1992. During the last decade there has been significant change in the number of students seeking higher education in both the public and private sector. According to Wadood (2006) the table below shows the population of students and the number of students during the period 2001-2006 (p. 16)

Private Universities 3 The concept of private universities was developed on realizing the macro demand of students seeking good higher education in the country. According to Ahmad (2007), The private universities are supplementing government efforts in spreading higher education throughout the country(p.2). Although there are 22 public universities and more than a thousand colleges in the country, the public sector has faced big failures in providing high-quality education to the students. Such failures arise because of student politics, associations and political activities in the campuses. In addition, the 22 public universities cover only 10 percent of the overall demand, since few students get a chance to enroll into these. According to Ahmad (2007), most of the remaining students end up in enrolling into colleges under the National University and take a long time to graduate. Those of the remaining students who can afford a bit more on the tuition fees end up enrolling into private universities. Unlike public universities, private universities are funded a sole owner, groups of owners or by a board of trustees. As a result, to meet the regulations put forth by UGC in the university Act 34 of 1992, the tuition fees charged by most private universities is a lot higher. The UGC report of 2005 states that many private universities are taking the opportunity of enrolling more and more students without maintaining academic standards since the seats in public universities are limited. In addition, the report also stated that these universities are not producing really educated people but only certificate holders (Private universities are not delivering, 2007). During the past six years, there have been serious debates going over the profit-motive attitude of the private universities. Such a debate arose since most parents and students were not satisfied by the quality and standard of education the private universities were delivering. For some consecutive days in May 2006, some students of two private universities protested on the streets of Dhaka city, against the administrations of their respective universities. They alleged

Private Universities 4 administrative mismanagement and lack of adequate educational facilities, as well as excess tuition fees. The students dissatisfaction was from a shared opinion amongst them that they did not receive educational and other facilities as promised at the time of admission. According to the New Age article Private universities and profit motives(2006), the editor clearly mentioned that private are more focused on profit making. Although UGC, published many reports on the subject and decided to take a handful initiatives, those private universities with profit-motives have somehow skipped the allegations and are still operating in the metropolitan. The failures of UGC become more evident when one finds multiple universities operating in the same building (Khan, 2006)

There also were several questions regarding the grading policies of the private universities. During 2005-2006, the grading policies were totally different in different private universities. There was no correlation of these different grading systems. Finally during the mid of 2006, UGC notified all private universities to form a unified grading system. Such measures were drawn since some universities were even charging higher fees and declaring higher grade boundaries just to attain a fake standard in the eyes of common people. These

Private Universities 5 universities didnt actually have the accreditation of UGC and completely lacked of the facilities to meet the degrees they were offering. In 2007, UGC restricted 40 private medical colleges from enrolling fresh student since they lacked the standards. Finally, a definite grading system along with a new Act over the private universities was to be put to action in 2007. According to Deabnath (2007), the Act 2007 was formulated in response to the allegations of selling certificates and providing low standard education in private universities. In short, the Act 2007 particularly focused some major issues that a private university must check a) Own campus. b) Ban on part-time faculties. The implementation of the Act is still underway but the grading system couldnt be applied to all private universities. Since some private universities are affiliated with overseas universities, they had to maintain the right academic standards. Nevertheless, all those efforts that were put to eradicate illegal operations and corruptions in private universities didnt provide any good result at all. Apart from some private universities, there is still a huge number of private universities that are almost selling certificates and not maintain the right standard. There are universities with insufficient laboratory equipment and less office space for which the faculty to student ratio is mostly high in most private universities. The private universities are still following Act 34 of 1992 and are enrolling students every semester. The students are desperate as well since the student population is rising every year and they have got no other alternatives. It is then only up to UGC and the university students to find out these universities and take actions against their profit motives.

Private Universities 6 Areas of Research

In my research, I intend to

learn and investigate the views of university students,

teachers and parents towards private universities in general, the policies of private universities in contrast to public universities and how the overgrowth of the private universities have led to the idea that private university education is a business product. Therefore, I will be addressing the following research questions:

How university students react to the idea that private universities are profit-oriented? To what extent the facilities of the individual private universities weigh their respective tuition fees?

What extra features do students expect from a private university than a public university?

Is there any correlation between the grading policies and tuition fees of the private universities?

To what extent the universities are meeting the demands of the students. How do the universities get the identity profit-motive? Do universities just sell degrees or maintain good academic standards?

Private Universities 7 Hypothesis

University education is the most vital part of any student who seeks a higher education and a good career. Therefore, when an individual seeks higher education, it is in terms of standard and quality. In a developing country like Bangladesh where the economy is not so solvent, the majority of the student population is the middle class or the upper middle class. These people usually seek education from private universities hoping to graduate within a decent period and good standard. In such efforts, every private university student expects to have good academic standards and well facilitated resources from their university. The seats in public universities are very limited and the student population is increasing each day. In my view, the owners of private universities have realized the need of hardworking students and are selling higher education (undergraduate and graduate) as business products. As a result most students would agree that the universities have a profit-oriented approach towards them.

Private Universities 8 Methodology

Initially the research paper was just an idea based on the hypothesis (see p) that I have made. As I started to think deeply over the topic, I decided to obtain two sets of data - one primary and one secondary. Since the topic that I have chosen for this research paper is primarily an opinion based topic, it was quite difficult to obtain any direct data. During the first few weeks, as I was working on my research questions, I designed a questionnaire set(see Appendix ) for university students so that I could conduct a survey and get a direct feedback. For the primary data for this paper, I decided to use the results of this survey to make an analysis of the students reaction over the subject. I also had an intention of having an interview session with personnel from UGC (University Grants Commission) and with the VC of North South University but I couldnt manage it since they considered the topic too controversial to talk about. Nevertheless, I chose to conduct the survey over 15 different universities in Dhaka city, taking 4 respondents from each university on average. The survey was conducted in two days and regardless of the troubles I had to face into getting access to different university campuses, I managed to conduct it successfully. As for the secondary data, I had to rely mostly on online resources, newspapers, local web blogs and weekly student magazines. To catch any recent discussions over the topic I also had to keep an eye over the daily newspapers regularly. Since the topic is narrowed down to a specific extent, I faced problems in surfing over the internet to locate the exact resources. Eventually, I decided to use whatever relevant information I could get over the internet and use it in my research paper. Moreover, I also went through newspaper and magazine archives to collect vital information about private universities.

Private Universities 9 Data Presentation and Analysis The basics: For the primary data collection, a questionnaire set was designed (based on the research questions) to conduct a survey over 15 different universities in the Dhaka city. In total, there were 51 respondents, all of which were specifically - university students. The survey was conducted not only among the male students but among the female students too. This was done to obtain a clear perception about the topic. In particular, the objective during the survey was to get as much feedback as possible from the sophomore, junior and senior students of each university. Thus, they are the ones who actually know the university well and can make a clear comment on the standards of the university. A summary of the survey participants is tabulated below: Target: University students % (out of 51 respondents) As mentioned earlier, 15 private universities selected to be surveyed upon for this research paper. On an average, around 4 students from each university were asked to take the survey and provide feedback on the topic. During the survey, it was made sure that the student feels free to complete the questionnaire set. The identity of each respondent was made confidential however a record was kept on which university the respondent was representing. Rough sketch: Male 57% Female 43% Freshman 6% Sophomore 35% Junior 33% Senior 20% Graduate 6% Gender Students

Private Universities 10 The universities that were surveyed upon were classified into three groups, in terms of academic standards and university age. These groups are A, B and C. Each participant of this survey was considered as a representative of the entire university. Around four participants from each university were considered so that a vivid idea was obtained. In order to provide a rough sketch of the survey, a table is shown below:

Universities

Respondents

Tuition Fees per credit(BDT)

Facilities to be improved (lab, resources, and faculty: student etc.)

Private universities focused on profits.

North South University Brac University American Independent University of Bangladesh University of Liberal Arts United International University University of Asia

4 5 4

Group A 4000 4400 3300

Lab facilities. Online resources and lab facilities. None

Strongly Agree Strongly Agree Agree

2000 Group B 3500

None

Strongly Agree

All

Agree

2200

Lab facilities.

Agree

Private Universities 11 Pacific Southeast University Northern University Stamford University University of South Asia Eastern University Daffodil Institute of Technology Primeasia University World University Green University

4 4 4 2 4 2 4 2 2

2750 1800 Group C 3250 1800 1600 1900 1850 2200 1700

All All Online resources and lab facilities Faculty: student All All All All All

Weakly Agree Agree Agree Disagree Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree

Generally, this table was very successful to get an overall idea of the feedback because only the precise information was put into the table. It is evident from the table that almost all the participants agree that private universities are focusing more into making profits recently. The table also showed what facilities were needed to be improved and also the tuition charged per credit in each university. This gives us a chance to infer that most of these universities need to improve the facilities and standards to weigh the amount of high tuition fees they are charging. The reason of the introduction of private universities in the society was to cover the failures of public universities and provide an innovative education (Haider, 2007. p.2) Evident from the table, these universities havent actually been very successful in doing so since most students demanded an improvement in about all sectors(lab facilities, faculty to student ratio, online resources etc.) In contrast to these, the tuition fees keep on increasing almost every two years.

Private Universities 12 Nevertheless, students and parents get the idea that private universities are in fact more into generating profits rather than maintaining quality.

Survey answers: In order to make a proper judgment regarding whether the private universities are actually more into generating profits, an in-depth analysis of each survey questions should be made. The survey questions were designed to communicate with the participants as freely as possible. In addition, the options to the responses of the questions were constructed in an opinion-based manner so that the students could provide feedback with ease. Partly, this was also done so that a narrowed feedback could be collected from the respondents. In the analysis of the survey, a simple response table and a 3-D chart has been provided with each question to get a clear and quick speculation of the responses. The responses to the questions have been narrowed down to an abridged version to analyze with ease and to relate clearly to the topic (See appendix A3 for the original questionnaire sample). 1. Does your university have its own campus? a) Yes. b) It is under construction. c) Well, the planning is underway and the construction will soon start. d) No.

Private Universities 13
Responses b c d 8 2 8

a 33

There were 51 respondents in the survey. This is just an introductory question for the main survey. The reason this question was included to check whether most universities actually had own campus or not. Most of the respondents suggested that their universities have own campuses. It is evident from the table and the chart that still there are a group of private universities that are not running on own campus.

2. Why did you choose a private university over a public university? a) No politics/session jams. b) Difficult to enroll into public universities. c) Private universities are better. d) No specific reasons. e) Others.

Private Universities 14

a 30

Responses b c d 12 5 2

E 2

Private Universities 15 Around half of the participants agreed to option (a). This shows that students nowadays would rather choose a private university to finish their higher education in time. It also indicates that the number of students desiring to get enrolled into private universities is rising. A small portion of the participants agreed to (b). Thus we also get a idea that it is easier to get enrolled to a private university. Only 5 respondents selected option (c). So, very few students are actually happy with their university but the majority of students are not. This proves the idea that students have an impression towards private universities as an alternative to the public university. Had the private universities maintained good academic standards, the impression would have been otherwise.

3. Do you think it would have been better if you were in a public university? a) Yes. Less tuition fees. b) Yes. Public universities are not profit-motive. c) Dont think so. d) Not actually. Private universities have better standards. e) Others.

a 15

Responses b c d 5 1 17 2

e 2

Private Universities 16

About most of the respondents chose option (a). This shows that students are not happy to pay the excess fees they are paying in. A major portion of university students considered private universities as profit-oriented. This was very alarming because such a direct inference directly points out that some universities are only thinking of doing business. In particular the responses to option (d) indicate that the top private universities are profit-motive but again they maintain good standards. If student politics was banned in public universities, then definitely, these students would select public universities. Overall the majority of students actually consider private universities to be profit-oriented.

4. What are the tuition fees per credit in your university? a) Tk.1500 - Tk.2500. b) Tk.2501 - Tk.3000. c) Tk.3001 - Tk.3500. d) Tk.3501 - Tk.4000. e) Tk.4001-4500. f) More than 4500.

Private Universities 17
a 2 6 Responses b c d e 4 1 4 5 2 f 0

This question was particularly designed to get an idea of the spread of tution fees charged per credit in different universities. As we can see, distribution lies mostly within Tk.1500 to Tk.2500. These are the universities from group B and group C. Some universities also charge within Tk.3001 to Tk.3500. The primary goal was to seek these universities. These universities are part of group B but the tuition fees they charge is over their academic standards.

5. What is the faculty to student ratio in your university? a) About 1:10. b) Around 1:15. c) Overall 1:20. d)1:25 in approximate. e) Around 1:30. f) More than 1:30.

Private Universities 18
Responses c d e 6 1 2 2 7

a 2

b 0

f 4

This question was considered as a vital part of the survey since it is designed to find out how much the university care about the students enrolled. From the results, it is clear that most private universities are overpopulated with students and are not considering the individual attention an university student seek. Although they have reached student saturation, they are still enrolling more and more students. About a small portion chose option (a) and (c) which indicates that there are some universities that focus into students need. By enrolling more and more students every semester most private universities are doing business in recent years.

6. What is your opinion about the grading policies of private universities? a) All private universities should maintain the same grading policy. b) Grading policies should be different in different universities. c) No comments. d) Others.

Private Universities 19

a 36

Responses b c d 7 6 2

Majority of the respondents selected option (a). This indicates students expect all private universities to maintain same standard. In addition, the responses also prove that students find the academic standards of different universities to vary in a large extent. This is why they preferred option (a).

7. Why do you think the grading policies differ? a )Depends on academic standards. b) Depends on the quality and number of students enrolled. c) Depends on tuition fees charged per credit. d)Others.

Private Universities 20

a 30

Responses b c d 10 10 2

About three-fourth of the participants selected option (a). Thus, the students realize that academic standards of all private universities are not same and different in grading policies have a reason behind it. The better the university, the more standard its grading policy is. About onefourth also suggested option (b) and option (c). These responses also complement the idea there is a great difference in the academic standards maintained by the private universities.

8. How do you identify your university? a) Non-profit motive institution. b) Profit motive. c) Has some profit-motives. d) No idea. e) Others.

Private Universities 21

a 4

Responses b c d 2 1 10 2 2

e 3

A large number of the respondents selected option (b). There are a lot of private universities that are profit motive since the students themselves think so. Responses to options (c) and (d) were almost same but the results they show are quite different in interpretations. Those who selected option (c) clearly state the private universities are indeed profit motive. It is shocking that a certain portion of the respondents were unaware of whether private universities are in fact more directed towards making profits. Only a small portion suggested that private universities are profit motive, hence it is evident there are only few universities that do not focus on only doing business.

9. How do the facilities and resources in your university weigh the tuition fees charged per credit?

Private Universities 22 a) Everything up- to date. b) High fees in contrast to the facilities and resources. c) Facilities need to be improved. d) Other comments.

a 13

Responses b c d 16 19 3

The responses to this question clearly show that most respondents find the tuiton fees to outweigh the facilities offered by the universities. In particular it is seen students mostly selected option (c) and option (b). A certain portion considered their universities to be ideal and this in fact indicates that few private universities are actually not into profit-making but the majority is. Most private universities charge a lot of fees but needs immediate improvement in facilities offered.

10. Which of the following needs to be improved in your university?

Private Universities 23 a) Good faculty to student ratio. b) Up-to-date laboratories. c) Up-to-date online resources and library facilities. d) All of the above. e) My university is perfect.

a 2

Responses b c d 7 1 20 4

e 8

About half of the respondents suggested option(d). Hence, private universities are charging a lot of money but are not improving the quality or their standards. Most comments were in terms of an improvement in everything. Followed by that, a significant number suggested improvement in online and library resources. About a quarter agreed to option(e) which shows that there are some universities that are improving their facilities for the students.

Private Universities 24 11. Do you think your university is properly maintaining the tuition waiver and scholarships program? (Provided you are eligible to receive one)? a) Yes it is doing so. b) Very few students get one. c) Not actually. d) Not at all. e) Others

a 23

Responses b c d 9 1 2 6

e 1

More than half of the respondents selected (a). This shows that private universities do give opportunities to students who need waiver programs to study. Another half argued with options (b) and (c). Maybe there are some private universities that just talk about waiver programs for publicity. This question was designed to see to what extent private universities care about their students need. The results are good nevertheless there are some universities which are not maintaining the program properly.

Private Universities 25

12. What is your comment about private universities selling certificates or enrolling students in exchange of money? a) Its awful. b) Private universities can do so. c) I dont care. d) Definitely a rumor.

a 25

Responses b c d 8 10 8

More than half of the respondents selected (a). Many students found it very unethical and confirmed that they have heard about the matter. A portion about less than a quarter suggested that private can do so. This shows that acknowledge the fact that private universities can sell degrees. About a quarter also commented that they didnt care. Moreover, a quarter argued that they dont do so. Since the majority says that university education has become a product, it can be inferred that most students think that private universities sell certificates.

Private Universities 26

13. Do private universities just sell degrees or maintain good academic standards? a) Sell degrees. b) Maintain good standards. c) They have the right to do both. d) No idea.

a 10

Responses b c d 22 12 7

About half of the participants argued with option (b). This again shows that some private universities do maintain good standards in contrast to higher tuition fees that they are charging. Generally, not all private universities sell degrees. Concurrently, the rest do sell focus on doing so since a significant number of respondents, selected options (a) and (c). This shows that there

Private Universities 27 is a portion of private universities that do not maintain good academic standards but are into generating profits by turning the education into a business product.

Summary of Research Findings As the survey data was analyzed question by question, the rough idea slowly began to become more vivid. The overall deduction of the entire survey was that the student are nor satisfied with the quality of education they have been receiving lately. It was also found that most private universities, even the ones considered as top ones, showed some signs of negligence towards innovation and improvement of the facilities. Along with the secondary data, the results from the primary survey confirm that private universities are actually directed towards profit generation recently. They might have had a good start in the beginning but over time, the owners have become directed to enroll more student and increase tuition fees without innovation in the academic standards. Responses to questions three, five, seven, eight and nine agrees to the idea that most student are becoming aware of the fact that their universities are shifting more towards making more money. The responses to questions ten, thirteen and fourteen have been most vital in proving the hypothesis of this research. Question fourteen was totally an opinion based question and the feedback had been wonderful since most students gave a clear idea of how far they actually agree that private universities are in fact growing rapidly, without any proper academic standard. While few old and well renowned universities maintain a steady standard, most students were clear enough in the survey to point out that there are a number of universities that outrun

Private Universities 28 these universities by setting their goal towards profit making. Thus, with reference to the primary survey and the secondary data(see appendix), the hypothesis was validated throughout the paper and proved right.

Conclusion

At the end of the research paper as I slowly approached and proved my hypothesis, I found the situation of the higher education in our country to be alarming. Although the overall research was a success, I found it really difficult to accept that private universities have attained such a negative side in the minds of university students and the society. Private universities are supposed to have better academic standards and good facilities. They are supposed to be a good supplement in spreading higher education in any developing country. As citizens of a country like Bangladesh, we cannot afford to face a scene where the private university education is considered as a business product the owners more focused into acquiring money. Nevertheless, it is the sole responsibility of UGC to ensure that a proper quality monitoring cell is set up to monitor the quality of all the 51 private universities periodically and take necessary action where needed. Undergraduate and graduate students are the key to the development of this nation, they shouldnt be considered as clients of education. They should be properly guided so that the receive the best education and take lead in the near future.

Private Universities 29

References

a. Super Admin ( 2007).List of private universities in Bangladesh. Retrieved March 01,2009 from http://www.reportbd.com/blogs/4/List-of-Private-Universities-inBangladesh.html.

b. The Pros and Cons of Private Colleges(n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2009 from http://www.scholarships.com/Pros-Cons-Private-Colleges.aspx.

c. Staff Reporter. (2007) 56 private, local campuses of foreign varsities illegal: Students face uncertainty, panicked about career. Retrieved March 02, 2009 from http://nation.ittefaq.co m/artman/publish/article_36039.shtml.

d. Ahmed, K.A., (2004). Private universities: myth and reality. New Age Fifth Anniversary Special. Retrieved March 05, 2009 from http://www.newagebd.com/store/anni08/14.html.

e. Deabnath, S., (2007). Act drafted to remove 'unholy practices' in private

Private Universities 30 universities. The Daily Star. Retrieved Mar 09, 2007 from http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=10083.

f. Correspondent (June 19, 2007). VC admits flaws in private university Association demands withdrawal of VAT from tuition fees. New Age National. Retrieved March 10, 2009 from http://www.newagebd.com/2007/jun/19/nat.html.

g. Ahmad, A., (2007). Private universities in Bangladesh: the challenge ahead. New Age Op-ed. Retrieved Mar 12, 2009 from http://www.newagebd.com/2007/jul/10/oped.html.

h. Editorial (2005). The private university question. New Age Editorial. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from http://www.newagebd.com/2005/dec/26/edit.html.

i. Wadood, S.N, and (2006) The Public-Private University Debate in the Higher Education sector in Bangladesh. Retrieved Mar 19, 2009 from http://mpra.ub.unimuenchen.de/10888/1/MPRA_paper_10888.pdf.

j. Editorial (2006).Private universities and profit motives. New Age Editorial. Retrieved Mar25, 2009 from http://www.newagebd.com/2006/jan/08/edit.html.