New act for private universities

There has been indeed a very fast growth of private universities in Bangladesh since 1992 and one must admit that most of the private universities attempted to fill the void for higher education that was so much in demand given the state of our public universities that were hamstrung by the ill effects of bad politics and political unrest in the country at that time, albeit for those who could afford the cost. Some of the universities with their experienced faculty members and their curricula that compared well with those of some good foreign universities catered to the requirements of increasing number of higher education seeking youths in the country. However, one must also admit that not all of them had the rhapsodic idea of imparting quality education only since a good number of them did not fulfil the criteria laid down by the UGC, even after the stipulated period.
It is a matter of regret that some of the private universities had exploited the loopholes in the provision of the Act of 1992 and indulged in commercialisation getting the better of any serious educational mission. It was not as if the government of the day did not try to clear the mess that was created in this sector. In spite of the recommendations of the committee set up by the 4-party alliance government in 2003, we are not certain that all those private universities that the committee had recommended to be closed down have stopped operating completely.
It, therefore, causes us very little surprise that certificates are sold, even medical degrees, by some universities. This is something that is quite imponderable in any society underscoring the absolute necessity for standardising the private universities by enforcing their registration against certain set criteria.
It appears that the provisions of the initial act on which the private universities were established were not comprehensive enough to ensure that private universities maintain certain standards. A new amended act is on the anvil. We welcome such a move. One would hope that the new enactments are holistic enough to ensure that the private universities measure up to the standards demanded of them. In this regard eliciting opinions of the representatives of Association of Private Universities one feels will make the new act fulsome. At the same time, oversight must be exercised on the private universities to ensure that rules are not flouted.