Introducing `double shift` at public universities will do no magic

UNIVERSITY Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC), as reported in the press, recommended to introduce double shift in the public universities to widen the scope of higher education for more students. To ensure optimum use of academic and infrastructural resources and to help the universities becoming financially independent the UGC proposes for introducing double shift while the academic standard and teachers’ quality are largely in a fiasco. What are the most imperatives are: recruiting best talented teachers, producing more quality research, and addressing the future needs. But our public universities lagged far behind the standard universally recognized in those areas.

Definitely how many students enrolled in the universities is not the only criterion of development rather the quality of education and research matters most. The UGC’s logic is — as most academic activities in most public universities end after 2:00pm, the infrastructure and academic resources remain largely unused, so introducing double shift would allow more number of students to study at the public universities. If that happens, the little opportunity for even a small number of teachers to become scholars would be sealed off permanently and the nation will be deprived of quality research and innovation. Because the teachers then would be fully engaged in routine class teaching only. The UGC opined that currently the education quality in National University and most private universities are not up to the mark, so the public universities should open double shift to bridge the gap.

There are no specific rules as to how many hours a teacher should spend on research, in running administration and for giving time outside the classrooms. Absence of clear cut regulations hampers the academic atmosphere.

It is true the top public universities cannot accommodate all the aspirants, but here lies the importance of quality and competency. While the graduate unemployment rate in the country increasingly is higher and new employment generation is seemingly unmoving, enrolment of a large number of students in varsities will only increase the number of frustrated youths.

The UGC should heighten the universities for ensuring quality education by recruiting quality teachers, not on the basis of political loyalty. Facilitating library, laboratory, and other opportunities, obligating teachers to engage in research works will ultimately produce quality graduates. In the last two and a half decades, a large number of private universities have emerged and are contributing in higher education while a good number of seats in National Universities usually remain vacant, thus introducing double shift in public varsities would do no magic to impart quality education. And for mobilizing the economic growth, the government should popularize the technical education in the backdrop of the employment sluggishness.