PRESIDENT Abdul Hamid on Monday said commercial courses were turning public universities into business organisations and also disrupting the educational atmosphere on the campus. “Thousands of graduates are being produced every year with these commercial courses where a section of teachers is making profits,” he said at the 52nd Convocation of Dhaka University. President, who is also the Chancellor of the University, raised question whether the students were getting any benefit from these degrees. Around 50 departments and institutions of DU are running evening courses, those include: Nuclear Engineering, Communication Disorder, Oceanography and Clinical Psychology departments; IBA, Institute of Energy and Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies.
The concern of the President about higher education though belated, it’s praiseworthy. When government high-ups remain silent about the unhealthy educational atmosphere in public universities, at that time the head of the state has come forward to point out the abnormalities. “Remember, the public universities are run with tax-payers’ money. So, you have to be accountable to the people,” the President stated. What’s true is that some teachers are reluctant to take classes of regular courses, but they are very serious about evening classes and diploma courses and at private universities because of cash benefits.
President further said some VCs and teachers have forgotten what the main work of the university is. The work is not just to impart knowledge, but to apply the acquired knowledge, he added. No doubt it’s perfect observation. It becomes a common phenomenon in each university that the teachers maintain open contact with political parties. Political appointment, from Vice-Chancellors to lecturers, is one of the prime reasons for unbridled corruption and irregularities there. For their own sake, they keep close liaisons with students’ organizations too. Its result is devastating. Recently we’ve seen that the ruling party’s student fronts have established a reign of terror at different universities introducing torture cells and mini bars in the residential halls.
Until teacher and student organizations won’t be freed from the grips of party-politics; there is no possibility of returning educational atmosphere in the universities. It must be sad for the President, if his good words are not listened by his government.
