Editorial
UGC survey of public varsities
It is an eye-opener
The University Grants Commission survey findings about five public universities are certainly worrying. The survey, which covered the universities of Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi and the Bangladesh Agricultural University, reveals the depressingly low standards to which teaching has declined among a large number of academics. When 28 per cent of teachers are observed to be extremely poor in teaching, when indeed the quality of research work undertaken by academics (13 per cent of teachers are not into research at all, while only 20 per cent are doing very well) does not conform to regional or international standards, it is time for us to sit up and take notice. There would be little point in arguing that beyond this 28 per cent are those teachers who appear to have been doing a good job. The fact is that teaching at the public universities must be of a uniformly high quality which demonstrates the intellectual excellence of academics.
The irony is that while in recent years there has been an increase in the number of universities in the private sector, such an increase has not been matched by enhanced standards of classroom performance by academics. The roots of the problem of course lie in the questionable means of teachers' recruitment over the years. Individuals not qualified to teach at universities or with partisan political loyalties have come into the profession. At the other end, a rather large number of good teachers have made their way out of the country to teach at foreign universities. Add to that the growing tendency among public university teachers to go for well-paying part time teaching jobs at the private universities. Where opportunities for research are the issue, fund constraints at the public universities have by and large stymied the growth and expansion of academic excellence.
There are priorities that need handling here. In the first place, appointment of low quality or politically affiliated teachers must be put a stop to. In the second, serious thought must be given to salary increases for teachers as well as funds availability for research at the public universities. Mediocrity is not what universities are for.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments