The Role of Private (Non-Government) Universities in Higher Education

Bangladesh faces many difficulties in meeting the quality needs of higher education due to its reliance on conventional approaches. Furthermore, failed governance has led to chaos and anarchy in the public universities that has been exacerbated by partisan allegiance of faculty and political unrest among the students. This predicament motivated leading academicians to lobby for the enactment of the Non-Government University Act of 1992 to expand the base of higher education in Bangladesh. The goal of the Act has been realized through the establishment of 54 non-government universities, accounting for 6% of student enrollments in private higher education as contrasted with around 11% in the government universities. The relevance of private higher education to socioeconomic needs is noteworthy as reflected in the employment records of its graduates. Much needed discipline in the academic arena has also been established in the non-government universities by eradicating the session jam concept. Academic life in these universities is devoid of student and faculty politics. The burden on public exchequer has been reduced, permitting in turn better funding and reform of the public institutions. Non-government universities are also market responsive, reflecting global perspectives in higher education. Brain drain has been minimized through retaining students and faculty and attracting faculty and young scholars from abroad. Through the establishment of non-government universities, a homegrown reform agenda in higher education has been set in motion, which has begun to produce positive results. The knowledge culture created by non-government universities may eventually take over the ‘muscle culture’ prevailing in the society, provided the government’s attention shifts from regulating inputs to measuring outputs. The acid test of such output is the extent of absorption of graduates in the employment market. Most significantly, the private universities are inducing changes even in the way the government universities operate.