APPOINTMENT of less qualified teachers in public universities is almost regular now mainly under political consideration despite its adverse impact on the quality education at higher level. As per a report in a national daily on Thursday Dhaka University Syndicate Committee on Recruitment approved four teachers’ appointment in the Department of Printing and Publication Studies. But none of them fulfills the qualifications mentioned in the recruitment advertisement. What appears strange is that there were eligible candidates who applied against two posts. But the authorities opted for less qualified ones denying basic rules of recruitment and frustrating efforts to bring in qualified teachers in universities to produce good students.
In fact the standard of our university education has dived to almost bottom level with appointment of many poor quality teachers in various departments. A candidate’s political identity now dominates over most other criteria of recruitment. Selection committee makes compromise taking political interest of vested quarters above academic interest. This type of self-defeating and degrading practice is at work in all universities and Dhaka University appears on top of it.
It is not unusual in such background that in terms of academic excellence none of our public universities is rated as having outstanding performance in the Asiatic level, least to speak about global level; although we are spending huge budgetary resources for them. Academic Rating of World Universities in August 2014 showed no university from Bangladesh could find a place in 500 best universities. Our position has rather declined from 527 to 601 between 2007 and 2012.
We are used to boost about Dhaka University as the Oxford of the East; but it can’t be denied of the fact that low quality of teachers and their lower engagement in teaching and research are bringing steady setback to our higher education. Our university teachers are spending more time in politics and teaching in private universities earning huge monthly income. University authorities or University Grants Commission (UGC) as a whole are allowing such practice although it is depriving students of regular classes and hindering switching of more of their time to basic research. Such policy of the university authorities with poor grade teachers has in fact made teaching a business proposition at the cost of our quality education.
The faulty recruitment of the Department of Printing and Publication Studies is not something exceptional, but every such step is ruining the public universities and creating bigger obstacle to develop highly educated manpower at a time when demand for such manpower is steadily rising in our expanding economy and at global market. In our view recruitment of varsity teachers must give top priority to qualified candidates, political choice must have no place in it.
