Public versus private universities: The Bangladesh scenario

Abstract

My paper will focus on the duality of the tertiary education system in Bangladesh. The paper will attempt to analyze the short-term as well as long-term implications of this parallel but essentially unequal system operating within the same country. From 1971 (when Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation) to 1991 there were only about a dozen public universities in Bangladesh. Since the passing of The Private Universities Act in 1992, 45 private universities have been established within a single decade. This number is absolutely phenomenal and the situation is arguably unique in the world. By contrast only 5 new public universities were given permission. The paper will argue that the commodification of higher education (universities as business enterprises) have altered the meaning and function of universities in the nation. Some key aspects of the dual system that will be discussed are the following: the unequal tuition structure (students of private universities pay tuition that is a 1000 times more than public universities), unequal salary structure for teachers, wide range of subjects taught in public universities vs. narrow range of subjects in private universities, infrastructural facilities (campus size, laboratories and faculty strength and so on), drain of teachers from private to public universities, and creation of unnatural tensions resulting from this duality. How and why public universities must face this challenge and threat from private universities is a question of fundamental importance.