Politicisation to blame for DU's slide
Says Dr Kamal at launch of 'University of Dhaka: Making Unmaking and Remaking'
Noted academicians and a jurist yesterday underscored the need for forming a commission that will work for the improvement of Dhaka University (DU) so it could make place among the 100 most prestigious universities across the world.
They were addressing a discussion yesterday marking the launch of a book titled, “University of Dhaka: Making Unmaking and Remaking”, at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of DU.
Offering his assistance for the commission, noted jurist Dr Kamal Hossain said, “The University had a golden past…..Form a commission that will work explicitly for the improvement of Dhaka University.”
Dr Kamal said the condition of education at DU has declined due to politicisation of administration and teachers.
Recently, Dhaka University has been listed among the 350 best universities in Asia, according to the Times Higher Education World University Ranking-2018.
In the world ranking, as per the Times Higher Education, a London-based organisation, DU ranked 1001+.
Political scientist Dr Rounaq Jahan opined that the quality of education has been deteriorating and it needs to be addressed properly. Many departments are following the decade-old curricula, she said, adding that students would not learn new things if the curriculum is not modified.
Rounaq, also a distinguished fellow of the Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said merits rather than political affiliation should be the basis of appointment of teachers and admission seekers. Chairman of CPD Prof Rehman Sobhan, who joined DU in 1957 as a lecturer of economics department and retired as a professor in 1977, shared his memory of the university.
The book, written by 19 educators and scholars, identifies the fundamental challenges that DU faces and the ways to overcome them in order to regain its academic standing nationally and globally. The book, associated by German based Foundation Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and published from Prothoma, is written in two different languages.
Dr Imtiaz Ahmed, a professor of international relations department at DU, and Iftekhar Iqbal, associate professor of history, played a role in editing the book.