M M Jasim :
The private universities are likely to face students crisis in the upcoming session as the guardians of the admission seekers are in anxious after the discovery of militancy link in some varsities by the law enforcement agencies.
The guardians blamed the private university authorities for negligence in performing their duties as the authorities are doing business in the name of higher education. They also alleged that the authorities do not work to improve the education system, but work for increasing tuition fees and other expenditure.
They are also worried about the future education of their children and urged the government to monitor the activities of all the private universities properly so that the young minds do not fall victim to the brainwashing of militant operatives.
The guardians’ anxiousness has increased after the terror attacks in Gulshan café and Sholakia Eidgah where the law enforcers found involvement of some students of private universities, mostly of North South University (NSU), Brac University and Manarat International University. Even seven of the eight convicted killers of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider were NSU students.
More worrying is the fact that law enforcement agencies have also come up with claims about the brainwashing of a good number of students from different private universities.
Yousuf Chowdhury, a resident of Bhola town whose son passed for this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination, told The New Nation on Saturday, “The militant groups target the private university to collect their new members. Some of the universities knew the matter but did not take any initiative to combat the militancy. Now we cannot depend on the private university authorities.”
Afzal Hossain, a guardian of Old Dhaka, said, “My son will first try to have admission to any public university. If he cannot, he will enroll in a degree programme under the National University. But, I will not allow him to get admitted to any private university.”
Another guardian, Shamsunnahar, also from Gopalganj, said his son would try for Jahangirnagar University first, and then for a suitable programme in a college of the district under the National University.
Shahin Alam of Narsingdi town also expressed his concern over the admission of his son, as the involvement of private university students in militant activities and deadly attacks on innocent civilians keep coming at the back of his mind.
“I have a long-cherished dream of getting my son admitted to a reputed university in Dhaka. But, the situation is not in favour of keeping him in any mess-house for study. Besides, I do not have relatives in the capital where my son can stay,” he said.
Shahin said he is yet to decide what to do with his son regarding the admission at the graduation level. “If my son fails to get enrolled in any public university, I’ll, perhaps, be compelled to admit him to a private university for a good career. But, I’ll have to live with worries always.”
Another guardian, Ramzan Ali, said that he would have sent his son abroad for higher studies had he had the financial capacity. He hoped that the law enforcement agencies would increase monitoring in private universities so that teachers, students and employees there cannot get involved in militant activities.
Another guardian, Habibur Rahman, said the government, after the two recent terrorist attacks, increased vigilance in private universities and demanded the government continue it with more efforts which will help the guardians of graduation aspirants to regain confidence in private universities.
He also suggested increasing the control of the University Grants Commission (UGC) over private universities.
The officials of the University Grants Commission (UGC) said the private universities are running their academic activities by the hired teachers. “The private universities also do not follow the rules and regulation of the UGC properly.
The government is going to appoint a supervisor under UGC in the trustee board at all private universities to monitor the policy making, academic activities and to check militancy.
The UGC has also formed a three-member committee to monitor all public and private universities and colleges across the country whether there are any militant activities.
UGC Chairman Professor Abdul Mannan said, “We directed the private universities to follow the direction of the Commission. We have also asked them to take steps to combat militancy from their institutions. If they implement our notice they can stay on the race. Otherwise the UGC would take stern action against them,” He also said a bad impact has creased in the guardians’ mind about the private universities. The authorities have to probe that the academic atmosphere of the universities is good and no chance to increase militancy here, he said.
Chairman of the Association of Non-Government Universities of Bangladesh (ANUB) Sheikh Kabir Hossain, said “We held several meetings and asked private universities to take various anti-militancy programmes. We have taken steps to monitor students during their stay at the universities. Guardians should also monitor their children.”
He said the ANUB also directed the universities to introduce extra-curricular activities and counseling for both the new and the old students.
The ANUB Chairman also mentioned that they had directed the private universities to take cautionary steps while recruiting teachers. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said private universities have to take their own measures to regain confidence of the guardians.
According to the UGC annual report-2014, some 121,194 students against 235,002 seats were admitted to 75 private universities across the country. A total of 129,765 students against 214,369 seats were admitted in the private universities in 2013.
It may be mentioned that a total of 899,150 students passed the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations-2016. But most of the students will try to admit at public universities and government colleges.
