Bangladesh News

There is no place for free thinking in the universities nowadays, as the teachers have gotten involved in partisan politics abusing the autonomy of the institutions, they are even getting promotions wielding political clout, said Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday.

The renowned jurist was speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable on Education-Students and Expectations, organised by Sheba Bangladesh Foundation at the Press Institute of Bangladesh in the capital, where acclaimed academicians expressed their dismay about the low quality of education in the country.

Discussants at the roundtable unequivocally said due to a wrong national education policy the education system of the country, from the primary to university levels, is in a shambles.

The dismal state of the education system thwarted the people’s equal access to education giving rise to discriminations in the sector, they added.

Quality education does not exist at any level because the importance of primary education has been ignored, because of the practice of educating secondary level students in three different mediums — English, Bangla, and Madrasa, and due to a vice-grip of political partisanship over higher education, especially in public universities.

They blamed teachers’ and students’ affiliations with political parties for the downward slide of education.

A failure to hire competent teachers at all levels of the education system is the main reason for the abysmal quality of education in the country, Dr Kamal Hossain said.

He suggested launching of a system that would merge the three mediums of education into one, based on the mother language.

Dr Kamal said teachers and students should have better moral integrity, values, and the spirit of nationalism — qualities which are generated only by high standards of education. “Universities as well as the Secretariat are now flooded with PhD holders as if an epidemic of PhD is sweeping through the country,” he added.

Dr Zillur Rahman Siddiqui, former vice-chancellor (VC) of Jahangirnagar University, said the disaster that has befallen the education system is a harbinger of a national crisis since it is not possible for the current system to produce a meritorious younger generation.

“Everything on the university campuses especially student admission, recruitment of teachers, and their promotions are being guided by political partisanship, which is very dangerous for the nation,” he said while presiding over the discussion.

He proposed introduction of a system in which teachers would be evaluated by the students in universities, and said inspection of schools should get more attention for monitoring the primary and secondary levels of education.

He also suggested university authorities to reintroduce tutorials in their institutions as it brings students closer to their teachers. “Small group teaching is no longer found in the universities,” he said.

“The disaster that has befallen our education system is more harmful than the flood. The present disaster in education sector is like a tsunami impacting the entire nation adversely,” said Dr Atiur Rahman.

Dr Abdur Rahim of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) said primary education should get more importance, as a student is unlikely to do well in higher education if his or her foundation is not strong.

Country Director of The Hunger Project Dr Badiul Alam Majumder said the teachers of primary and secondary schools nowadays act like ‘bureaucrats’ due to political partisanship in educational institutions.

Prof Kaikobad emphasised on transparency in the education sector for raising the standards of the universities. “The education system of a country lays the foundation for socio-economic development of a country.”

Dr Shawkat Ara Hossain said Bangladesh will keep lagging behind if the standard of education is not improved. “Everything is competitive in today’s world,” she said.

Hiring of an adequate number of competent teachers is essential for ensuring quality education, she added.