100 years of Dhaka University
Dhaka University was born out of a struggle by the people of east Bengal for asserting their regional identity. It reached its apotheosis through its leading role in the struggle for Bangladesh's nationhood. The year 2021 is significant for both Bangladesh and the University of Dhaka as both the entities will turn 50 and 100, respectively.
The proud history of Dhaka University's various political movements is intertwined with the history of opposing oppressors. The role of the university in 1952, 1969, 1971 and 1990 are examples of that. During these years, Dhaka University rarely departed from its commitment to scholastic standards, where advancement remained merit based. But now, most of its student bodies are dancing to the tune of the ruling party.
We have to understand that a university is a place of pursuing academic excellence. It is a place that is supposed to create new knowledge, store that knowledge and disseminate it. As proud students of the country's premier university, its students cannot stay insulated from the national agenda or politics, but over-politicisation has surely created many impediments when it comes to nurturing talent. It is now a common phenomenon for most university students to become obsessed with government administrative jobs. They now start studying for the BCS and other competitive exams from their university years. This is because the incentives of government service have increased manifold in the last few decades. In earlier years, students used to aim for academic excellence and try to excel in their respective subjects. The number of academic disciplines has increased, but the question remains whether their curricula have been updated.
The fact is that students of DU are not getting familiarised with the most up-to-date knowledge. Most employers in the competitive private sector are saying that they are not getting DU graduates with appropriate skills for the job market. A large chunk of people from the surrounding countries of Bangladesh are now capturing lucrative positions in Bangladesh's private sector.
The result is pretty evident, as we have seen Dhaka University rank very poorly in various World University rankings: i.e., QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Ranking, THE (Times Higher Education) Ranking, CWUR (Centre for World University Ranking). In economics, there is a theory called Gresham's Law. It states that "bad money drives out the good money". Similarly, it means, if a system allows something bad to grow, then eventually it will drive out the good from the system. Dhaka University is suffering from something very much like that. But the university still produces a number of meritorious students—although the university itself perhaps no longer playing a big role in that.
Dhaka University—once an embodiment of Bangladesh's dream—a hundred years after its emergence is a mere shadow of its glorious past. If we look at the history of Dhaka University, we will notice that every few years it produces at least a few teachers of international calibre. Even today, there are very good scholars who are coming out from DU and publishing in the best journals and university presses and taking part in state of the art research. Of course, teachers could do better in terms of publishing their work internationally. And a committee should immediately be set up to find out why the more qualified teachers from DU are currently underperforming.
Certainly, many Dhaka University students are still in high demand. IBA graduates are doing exceptionally well both in our country and abroad. Many students from English, Economics, Sociology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering departments are also doing fairly well. Students from various departments of the biosciences, the applied sciences and pharmacy faculties are also working both at home and abroad. So, there are quite a lot of success stories as far as employment goes.
Dhaka University's most significant contribution in the last 50 years or so has been to accept students who cannot afford to pay even a fraction of the tuition fees charged by private universities. Dhaka University and the other public universities are doing a fantastic work in educating people who would otherwise not have been able to pursue higher studies. Many of these students go on to have successful careers and hold high-level positions. People who criticise Dhaka University most often ignore this point. However, there are valid arguments for tuition fees to be raised slowly over time and marginally. But what we have seen in the past is that every time the tuition fee is raised, the move tends to attract the wrath of the students, resulting in the administration often having to withdraw their decision to raise fees.
People have high expectations from Dhaka University, and rightly so. It has always strove to provide the best possible service to the country. It has also played an important role at key junctures of the country's history. But it must continue to do so and not compromise as far as quality is concerned. At the end of the day, quantity without quality is a sure prescription for disaster.
Nevertheless, we cannot simply dwell on the past. DU has come a long way in the last 100 years, but much more needs to be done if it is to live up to its reputation as "the Oxford of the East". The university has to evaluate its own performance on a regular basis and make changes when and as they become necessary in order to stay on top and become a much better university in the future.
With the Fourth Industrial Revolution right around the corner, it is time for DU to once again play a pivotal role in leading the country when it comes to state of the art technologies and subject areas. In order to achieve vision 2041, we have no other option but to adopt the latest technologies that are out there, and DU must play a key role in leading the country in that department.
Fakhrul Islam is a Director at UGC, Bangladesh.
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