The Challenge of Attaining Quality

F. The Challenge of Attaining Quality

64. Assurance of quality is a critical issue in higher education. In a country of 160 million people and with a history of modern university education for over 9 decades, the country

cannot boast of one single “world-class” university, although some could find a place among top universities in Asia. But attaining quality in university education should not be an

impossible proposition. Quality in higher education can be viewed both in terms of overall quality of the HEIs, particularly of the universities, and also in terms of individual or specific academic programs or disciplines. The quality assessment of universities normally considers many aspects, such as academics, campus and infrastructure, management and governance, research performance, and publications. Various indicators within each of the above categories are examined in the quality evaluation: for example, under academics, the quality of faculty and curricula would feature prominently. The challenge is in proper evaluation of quality and in the implementation of recommendations from such evaluations. The government is considering setting up an accreditation council to evaluate and ensure the quality of universities.

65. Quality assurance is essential in higher education because of the generally low competence of those having postgraduate degrees as measured by employability. The existing pattern of unemployment and underemployment of university graduates implies that the system is not working efficiently and effectively.

66. Parental emphasis on measuring educational excellence by examination results, an inadequate relationship between research and classroom teaching, an unsuitable educational environment, a lack of educational implements, and an unsatisfactory teacher – student ratio are impediments to acquiring the right type of higher education in this country. The demand for higher education also affects quality. Lack of avenues for studying many diverse subjects and lack of opportunities for studying in various streams put great pressure upon the universities and colleges. Increasing pressure for admission combined with existing inadequacies in facilities, resources, personnel, libraries, laboratories, and accommodations significantly affect the quality of higher education.

1. Relevance

67. One common criticism of higher education in Bangladesh is that it is steeped in traditionalism and there is no significant relevance to national needs and problems. The unemployment of large numbers of educated youth implies that higher education institutions have been unable to properly assess and respond to the job market. If graduates are not prepared to meet national development needs, then the resources spent on them is wasted.

2. Efficiency

68. The efficiency of higher education is proved by the contribution of its graduates to society. The contribution to efficiency of the education system depends on the outputs of top administrators, scholars, and researchers working in these institutions. To measure efficiency, the output of higher education can be used as a criterion. A large number of

failures (25%) 16 is seen in the degree examinations. In the honors and master ’s-level examinations, the percentage of those who pass is much higher than at the degree level. But

among the successful candidates in the two examinations, only a few can hope to enter the professions, which require high academic competency and professional skills. Another weakness of the higher education system is that universities and colleges do not have any follow-up of the performance of their graduates. The available data on unemployment of graduates of universities and colleges are scanty and sometimes unreliable. There is also a lack of scientific tools for accurately measuring the efficiency of higher education.

69. Brain drain is another indicator of measuring efficiency of an education system. A large number of qualified undergraduate students are going to study abroad every year for two reasons. First, demand for admission to programs in specialized and job-oriented disciplines far exceeds the number of seats. Second, because of better job opportunities abroad, many bright students believe that getting degrees from good foreign universities will help them land lucrative jobs abroad.

3. Curriculum Reform

70. Modernization of curricula and syllabi to reflect new knowledge is one of the essential tasks of any education system. In the past, curricula reforms were initiated in Bangladesh but these were not radical. There are bottlenecks to reforming curricula. The composition of

16 Government of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics. 2013. Bangladesh Education Statistics, 2012. Dhaka. Pass rate of degree 2011, 75%.

university bodies, their mode of functioning, the present system of examination, and the organizational structure of departments in universities and colleges make rational consideration of any reform difficult.