AT LEAST 12 to 14 private universities, which are involved in business in the name of providing higher education, are going to face punitive actions of the Ministry of Education, as per a report of The New Nation on Sunday. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid at a function in the city on Saturday directed the concern authorities to crack down on the unauthorised activities of these universities. They not only lack approved campuses but also have conflicts among the Board of Trustees. They are also flouting the Private University Act, 2010.
The University Grants Commission announced that activities of four universities’ Board of Trustees are affected following conflicts among the members. They are also using unapproved campuses. Besides, two institutions had their licenses cancelled by the government but were operating under Court Orders, and another six were using campuses that were not approved. The UGC is investigating irregularities at private universities and it will publish a list of universities operating improperly. The Education Minister said the faulty private universities are running their activities with the cover of Court Order. But ultimately the private universities will not be able to do that.
It is no secret that the quality of education in most private universities is below that of similar public ones – hence most top companies require applicants for jobs to have degrees from public universities. On average, private university students get higher GPAs than public university ones. That is a type of grade inflation persists in the private universities where the professors are heavily pressurized to give higher grades – if they (the faculty members) do, they get increased emoluments. The common allegation is that most private universities, are running ‘Certificate selling’ business and thus marking huge money unethically.
Far worse than the presence of conflicts among Board members or not having approved campuses is the actual quality of teaching in private universities – with some notable exceptions, it is mostly under par when compared with that of public universities. It is this that needs to be focused on by the government – just because a university has its own campus and has no conflicts in its Board of Trustees does not make it a model university. If the university does not have qualified teachers and adequate teaching infrastructure then that must be improved – or the university should be shut down.
The most important thing of course, is to ensure that private universities don’t become degree mills – tales abound of students who are getting degrees by not attending classes and by simply paying their fees on time.
It is depressing that every sector of our public life is being damaged for having no responsible authority willing to serve the people honestly.
