THE New Nation reported on Friday that Vice-Chancellors in many private universities in the country are only titular head of the institutions while the Board of Trustee (BoT) comprising individuals who made investment to set up them take most internal decisions. It essentially highlights the fact that they are primarily running them as businesses with the profiteering motive in the Education Sector instead of devotionally teaching to create skilled manpower and promote the quality of education.
So they hire individuals in the post of VCs and such other senior posts only to fulfil certain criteria for university license instead of authorizing them with real power. They have no authority to plan expansion of academic activities, hire new teachers to ensure better education or develop other infrastructure like University Libraries and Research Laboratories for teachers and students. VCs have no financial power to sanction fund for other initiatives except to help the BoT with big collection of money to add to their fortune.
Some VCs have reportedly expressed dissatisfaction over the BoT control over their authorities in discharging their statutory power and responsibilities. Even, some have resigned due to conflict of power with the BoT. What is more surprising is that 39 private universities out of 95 have no VCs. Many others have no Pro-VCs or Treasurer. Here personal conflicts or cost saving policies are at work behind the backlash. However there is an informal similarity between private and public universities. The government controls the decisions of public universities while BoTs dominate private varsities in their pursuit to advance their self-interest.
The Private University Act-2010 has provided ample power to the BoT but it also gives the VCs the power as the head of decision making for all academic activities. But practically they are not enjoying independence to take such decisions while finding them subservient to BoT who are in fact owners of the private universities. The question is if the VCs can’t work independently to promote academic environment and quality of education, the purpose of allowing universities to function in the private sector is facing serious backlash.
The situation is not however same in all. Some are too much in disarray while others are enjoying relative freedom to look beyond to advance the interest of students and their higher education. Some are even fairly doing well.
The country has over 100 private universities until recently but most of them are lacking major infrastructure and failing to offer quality education. Experts believe that a balanced power sharing between the academic head and the BoT can help improve the situation in most private universities to slowly transform them to real seat of learning.
So they hire individuals in the post of VCs and such other senior posts only to fulfil certain criteria for university license instead of authorizing them with real power. They have no authority to plan expansion of academic activities, hire new teachers to ensure better education or develop other infrastructure like University Libraries and Research Laboratories for teachers and students. VCs have no financial power to sanction fund for other initiatives except to help the BoT with big collection of money to add to their fortune.
Some VCs have reportedly expressed dissatisfaction over the BoT control over their authorities in discharging their statutory power and responsibilities. Even, some have resigned due to conflict of power with the BoT. What is more surprising is that 39 private universities out of 95 have no VCs. Many others have no Pro-VCs or Treasurer. Here personal conflicts or cost saving policies are at work behind the backlash. However there is an informal similarity between private and public universities. The government controls the decisions of public universities while BoTs dominate private varsities in their pursuit to advance their self-interest.
The Private University Act-2010 has provided ample power to the BoT but it also gives the VCs the power as the head of decision making for all academic activities. But practically they are not enjoying independence to take such decisions while finding them subservient to BoT who are in fact owners of the private universities. The question is if the VCs can’t work independently to promote academic environment and quality of education, the purpose of allowing universities to function in the private sector is facing serious backlash.
The situation is not however same in all. Some are too much in disarray while others are enjoying relative freedom to look beyond to advance the interest of students and their higher education. Some are even fairly doing well.
The country has over 100 private universities until recently but most of them are lacking major infrastructure and failing to offer quality education. Experts believe that a balanced power sharing between the academic head and the BoT can help improve the situation in most private universities to slowly transform them to real seat of learning.
