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State of Education

The erosion must be checked from the root

Bitter truth

Md. Asadullah Khan
***Most worrisome, nobody talks or thinks about the quality of education our children are offered. Schools in the length and breadth of Bangladesh have failed to cater to the needs of our children. Nov/ our best schools are supposed to be those that use English as the medium of instruction. Most traditional vernacular schools have sadly become outdated and out of touch with the modern methods of education.****
WHILE speaking as chief guest at a round table on higher education recently in the capital, Dr. Akbar/Mi Khan, a former adviser to the caretaker government and presently Chairman of Regulatory Reforms Commission, said that corruption in education sector fuels it in other sectors. Dr Khan sounded the home truth when he said that corruption in any other sectors can be curbed in four to five years but it will take a few generations to eliminate corruption in education sector.
. While glancing at the spectacular success of some Asian countries, now known as Asian Tigers, it becomes abundantly clear to us that investments they made in education i.e in schools colleges and universities, paid off enormously. As the RRC chairman Dr Khan has said, while in some countries international comparisons are being used as a catalyst for educational reform, and an intense competition to achieve economic success, we have shown appalling apathy towards even achieving at least a meaningful standard. One । wonders if the mushroom growth ’ ’ of 54 private universities, all of them Dhaka-based and several public universities spread over the country have ushered in an explosion of knowledge. Based on an analysis of the quality education, RRC chairman underscored the need for introducing rating system for evaluating the performances of all private and public universities in the country.
In a situation where most of the private universities are running a thriving business selling degrees in exchange for hefty registration fee and tuition fees, the universities in the public sector are engaged in a battle of contending: mediocrity, gradual erosion of quality, antiquated laboratories and an appalling lack of interest exhibited by the students in pursuing higher education. It was revealed in a report published in a Bangla daily tjugantor. June 8. 2007) that some five private universities in Dhaka that maintained their outer campus were engaged in a racket of selling certificates through these centres. The ministry of education fter an investigation declared these campuses illegal and asked the concerned universities to close down the outer campuses.
According to reports revealed by the UGC, there are about ten private universities in Dhaka that are engaged in commercialisation of education through running outer campuses. The UGC chairman told in an interview as published in a Bangla on Aug. 8, 2007 that in some of these outer campuses teachers from schools and colleges were taking class. Report published
in the Prothom Alo on August 8, 2007 indicated that some 56 branches of foreign universities were selling certificates without conducting any formal teaching or taking approval from either the UGC or ministry of education.
There is no denying the fact that the Vice-Chancellor of a university enjoys immunity from summary removal. His stature is built on the belief that he cannot be bent by influence nor broken by power. By all reckoning the vice chancellor should be a distinguished academic personality with ability to provide leadership to the university by his academic worth, administrative competence and moral stature. Sadly, in this era of deteriorating institutions, the VC also fails. Reportedly afraid of being indicted in financial and academic irregularities, Khulna University VC Dr Mahbubur Rahman went abroad on leave for a month first and after expiry of the leave period he sent his resignation letter by fax from Canada which seems to be highly irregular and not acceptable by law.
There were allegations of serious financial irregularities in some of the 26 public universities, mostly done at the behest of the chief of the institution, that included the Islamic University also. It was reliably learnt that UGC as a routine job cautioned these universities in 9 letter in June last year. This far and no farther.nn the last five years because of such gross financial impropriety. VCs of the Open University. Moulana Bhasani University . Sylhet. Science and Technology University and Noakhali Science and Technological university and lastly the VC of National University had to go away from their jobs. The indifference of the past governments perhaps made these so
called VCs a law unto themselves. Now the UGC, which has a right as the apex funding agency to monitor the universities is concerned about the decline in the standard of vice- chancellorship as well as education in consequence of the unethical activities of some VCs and teachers. And so they are exploring ways and means to induct the right person in the right job.
Even Dhaka University which is better managed /than the rest 26
public universities is not immune from the contagion. The recent incidences of awarding First Class to 51 students at the Masters level in the political science department followed by question leakage of the comprehensive examination at the Masters level of the same department have raised eyebrows in sensible citizenry. How could this happen in a premier university which was once called the Oxford of tlie East ? While one glances at the National University, misdeeds of other universities pale into insignificance. With incidences of question leakage occurring thrice in a short span of three months in this university and with many VCs removed for lack of integrity or embroiled in corruption charges, the main delivery system of higher
education faces a crisis of existence.
The problem we now confront and the solution TIB-famed Professor Muzaffar Ahmed has pointed out is abundantly clear to all with vision and pragmatism. No doubt it's the teacher who shapes the student. Undeniably true, teachers' quality and teaching ability in the schools of Bangladesh are abysmal. Because many of them roped their way to the teaching profession most often not to
their liking and interest, quality has become the biggest casualty. No wonder the teaching job demands high commitment from the teachers which is distinctly missing. I still remember my revered teacher Girin Babu of my school days. He was equally well versed in Mathematics and Bangla other than English. Girin Babu often picked up the poor and meritorious students in class nine and ten and built their foundation and guided their preparation for the matriculation examination free of charge, oncea week, four hours in the morning and another two hours in the evening at his own two storied house at Satkhirft town. Is it possible to get at least one such teacher in every school these days?
Most worrisome, nobody talks
or thinks about the quality of education our children are offered. Schools in the length and breadth of Bangladesh have failed to cater to the needs of our children. Now our best schools are supposed to be those that use English as the medium of instruction. Most traditional vernacular schools have sadly become outdated and out of touch with the modern methods of education. This is why even our politicians and bureaucrats who perhaps believe passionately in Bengali nationalism end up sending their children to English medium schools.
On the other hand, the country now sees a proliferation of coaching centres beginning from the primary to the undergraduate level in the lanes and by lanes of cities and towns. Teaching and learning these days in schools and colleges have, unfortunately, become a sort of gamble. Lured by die fast money these coaching centres fetch these days, hundreds of such centres even in rural areas of the country have sprung up almost in a sort of commercial enterprise. Rather than giving the students the cherished objective the system has bred corruption in the teaching profession as investigations reveal that many of these coaching centres arc allegedly linked to a section of greedy and evil minded academics and office staff.
Since the ills have accumulated much earlier, in a sense, at the primary level, people entrusted with the task of formulating educational policy and strategies must work with a missionary zeal to repair the damage at the grassroots level.
Md Asadullah Khan is a former teacher of physics and Controller of Examinations, BUET.