Private universities run without fulfilling criteria
None of country's 54 private universities fulfils all the criteria required for registration under the Private University Act. They lack their own campus, faculty members, library or laboratory facilities, say educational experts.
The 1992 legislation stipulates that every private university should have five acres of land and be housed on a permanent campus within five years of operation.
Some universities have obtained land in the suburbs of Dhaka, but the only one to have started on its permanent campus is the North South University (NSU).
Noted educationist Prof Muzaffer Ahmad blamed a section of private universities for being interested only in earning money rather building proper infrastructures. “They are not universities, they are merely tutorial homes,” he said.
When the first private university, North South, was launched, the entrepreneurs behind it said aims of the new institution were to provide quality education to many students who go abroad each year and save foreign currency for the nation.
But most of the new private institutions still operate on temporary sites. Some do not even rent their own buildings but share space on a shift basis with other private educational establishments. Bangladesh University, for example, shares space with Mohammadpur Preparatory School.
Others run alongside garment factories and commercial firms. Abedin Tower in Banani houses Queens University, offices and a garments factory. Darul Ihsan University's computer science department is housed in a flat in Dhanmondi area.
Many universities do not buy books and laboratory equipment due to space constraint, an education expert said.
The East West University library is alone in addressing the problem of shortage of space by subscribing to online libraries, enabling students to access to books through the Internet.
Some other private universities, however, provide books only related to their curriculum, but extra-curriculum books for widening knowledge is not available.
Prof Jahedul Islam of Dhaka University believes the government's decision to retain Tk 5 crore from new universities as a guarantee, instead of the previous Tk 1 crore, is a barrier to the participation of real educationists in this field.
He said private universities are making a positive contribution to the education sector, but would be helpful if the government lowers the guarantee payment and allows private universities with small campuses to function.
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