Focus on skills is the right approach

It was a matter of delight that Dhaka hosted a three-day conference on the theme "Future of Entrepreneurship Education and Experiential Learning: Determinants of Developing Successful Entrepreneurial Eco-System in Asian Economies". Daffodil International University deserves congratulations for organising the event in collaboration with the Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh.  

One of the essential messages that emerged from the conference, attended by representatives of universities from 15 Asian countries, was the need to develop students with the adequate knowledge and skills to meet the variegated demands of the society. And nobody can agree more that the focus on skills development is the right way to go.

However, in this regard, there are a few issues that we feel merit consideration by the relevant quarters. Firstly, it is essential that we determine the direction of higher education in our universities. While education has a universal meaning and objective, which is to prepare a person for meeting their responsibilities towards the society along with securing means for their sustenance, the objective of the higher seats of learning in any country should be oriented towards meeting the needs germane to that particular country. It is time to assess whether the large number of private and public universities in Bangladesh are actually fulfilling the country's requirements.

And that brings us to the question of the quality and cost of higher education. If the employer is not happy with what she/he is getting out of a Master's degree holder, then there must be something wrong with the quality of teaching. For example, there are a large number of universities that run higher courses on business administration, yet we hear business houses complaining of not getting the quality they would like. Where are the lacunae? And this leads one to ask whether the quality of teaching is commensurate with the cost. 

We couldn't agree more with the education minister that there should be more collaboration between industries and academia to address the problem. We urge the education minister to facilitate an interface between the business houses and the universities, both public and private, to address these very questions.