Rabindranath Tagore said, ‘Universities should never be made into mechanical organizations for collecting and distributing knowledge.’ The universities should have the best talented teachers who will conduct research. They will be at the top in knowledge, skills and research. Tagore also says, ‘A teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself. A lamp can never light another lamp unless it continues to burn its own flame.’ He emphasized on qualified, skilled and experienced teachers to ensure quality education.
After independence, Dr. Qudrat-e-Khuda National Education Commission made a comprehensive analysis and long-term recommendations on higher education. The University Grants Commission (UGC) was established in 1973 to conduct higher education in the right way. At the same time legislature for four existing universities (Dhaka, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Jahangirnagar) in the country was approved. The university ordinance 1973 was passed. The law provided for the election and appointment of Vice chancellors in an unprecedented democratic process.
Recruitment of university teachers should have maximum transparency and accountability. But when we see opacity, obliquity and nepotism in the recruitment of teachers in those public universities, the mood gets worse. It is very unfortunate to hear about disorderliness in the recruitment of those with whom the future of the country will be built. The universities of our country are autonomous and for this reason, neither the government nor the University Grants Commission (UGC) can force any university to follow any guidelines. The government and UGC can only make recommendations for universities. According to a study by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), obliquity starts with convenient change of qualification or relaxation, formation of recruitment board and lack of accountability.
There are several universities in neighboring India where a teacher has to submit at least one year’s lecture before appointment.
An evaluation committee scrutinizes his lectures. He is eligible to teach only if it is acceptable to the committee. But when the teachers of the universities of our country are recruited in the morning, they start taking class in the afternoon. In many SAARC countries, research published in international research papers is given more importance than academic results in appointing public university teachers. PhD is mandatory to become a university teacher in Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. But the recruitment process of the universities of our country is done based on only oral exam. Since the university teacher recruitment process is only oral based, many people think of it as the main cause of irregularities. If there is any irregularity in the recruitment process, there is an opportunity to give a note of dissent, but in our country’s universities, the recruitment process is finalized by syndicate without any emphasis on it. Public universities are governed by their own laws and have their own rules for hiring teachers. With the approval of the syndicate, the university administration can change and refine it.
Obliquity and nepotism in the recruitment of teachers in public universities in our country are not a new issue. We have come to know about the obliquity and nepotism in the recruitment of teachers in different universities through newspapers. A few days ago, the news was published in the newspaper about the nepotism in the recruitment of teachers of a public university.
Teachers’ recruitment in transparent process in public universities is a demand of the time now. If there is no transparency in the recruitment process of university teachers, then the real meritorious students will be left out and country’s higher education will suffer. The time has come to implement the UGC’s recommendations on university teacher recruitment. In the recruitment of teachers in Indian universities, qualifications are never relaxed. If there is an opportunity to relax the qualifications of the candidates, then there is an opportunity for nepotism.
Uniform recruitment policy is being formulated in universities all over the world but we have not yet reached that stage. To get any job in Bangladesh, big or small, one has to participate in written and oral exam, but it is not clear to us why the written exams are not taken at the time of appointing university teachers.
There are a number of steps that need to be taken to ensure transparency and accountability. It is necessary to bring a radical change in the recruitment rules of the universities. The appointment process of university teachers needs to be made more transparent, neutral and up-to-date. In this case, I would like to present my personal opinion. The following steps can be taken. 1. Written test has to be taken along with oral test. 2. The one who gets the highest marks in the academic result should be given highest priority. 3. Those who fundamental research and PhD should be given priority. 4. In addition to academic results, other skills need to be verified. 5. It is necessary to be free from the influence of politics in recruitment. 6. To formulate policies to prevent abuse of power. 7. To form a selection committee with fair and transparent persons. 8. The recruitment process can be divided into three levels: written test, oral test and demonstration class. 9. A uniform or equivalent teacher recruitment policy should be implemented for all public universities in the country. 10. Presentations on past research of job seekers can be taken. 11. If job seekers have any strong training related to his subjects then it has to be taken into consideration. 12. There should be some specific marks on academic results, research, higher training and other skills.
University teachers will have the highest conscience, this is what the nation expects. Everyone expects that neutrality will be maintained in the highest educational institutions of the country. Let the learning environment return to the universities. Let the university administration be a symbol of purity and that is our only wish.
(Mr. Majhar is Assistant Professor, B A F Shaheen College Kurmitola, Dhaka Cantonment).
