Open University graduates out in the open

Open University students are having trouble pursuing higher education, since the country's five Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Boards and some colleges refuse to recognise their work.

Meherun Nesa Urmy received her SSC from Open University. She was admitted to the commerce department of Shaheed Anwar Girls College for the 1998-1999 session.

However, college authorities asked Urmy to find another school when she tried to register. The education board had told the school it couldn't register her.

Mohammad Kamal Pasha, Urmy's father, secured a court injunction against the authorities to ensure his daughter's education continued.

Monzur-e-Khoda Tarafdar, the registrar of Open University, said the university met with Higher Education Board and Education Ministry officials five months ago to resolve the problems facing students like Urmy, just one of 14,000 who have received their SSC from Open University since it opened in 1995.

The officials asked the university to submit its curriculum so the board and the ministry could compare it to those followed in mainstream institutions.

"We gave them the relevant document several months ago, but they still haven't replied," said Tarafdar.

The Chairman of the Dhaka Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board said students should get their basic education from a conventional education institution.

Students who get their certificate from Open University should also get their higher education there, since the traditional system still can't accept students from non-conventional educational institutions, he said.

An official with the Ministry of Education said a committee is examining the standard of Open University's SSCs and HSCs. However, he refused to say when the committee would submit its report.