Service to Society, Beyond Bureaucracy: Why Bangladesh Needs a Separate Higher Education Commission to Align Academic Missions with National Development Goals
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Empowering knowledge, driving development — a visionary path where education leads the nation beyond bureaucracy toward purposeful progress.
(This is the third in a ten-part series titled, “Why Bangladesh needs a standalone Higher Education Commission for Private Universities.”)
Universities Are Not Ivory Towers
“Universities are not ivory towers, they are engines of national transformation.” This enduring vision appeals to societies that seek not just skilled graduates but also active citizens, robust communities, and fast-tracked national development from higher education.
But in Bangladesh, university education is still primarily viewed through the narrow lenses of teaching and research only. The third mission of the universities—service to society—is yet an undernourished and underestimated component of our academic culture. For private universities, which already cater to a significant proportion of enrollment in higher education, a weakness in the institutional framework for supporting, monitoring, and rewarding community engagement represents a missed opportunity for the nation.
This is the third in a series of ten articles that argue that a special Higher Education Commission for Private Universities (HEC-PU) has the potential to be the instrument of institutionalizing this “third mission.” By injecting quality standards with a focus on community service and national development objectives, a private HEC can ensure that universities are not only turning out graduates to populate the job market but are also cultivating leaders, thinkers, and change-makers contributing to Bangladesh’s long-term development.
The Forgotten Third Mission
Universities around the world are known to have three missions: teaching, research, and service. The first is in preparation for careers; the second is in the process of knowledge; and the third—the most neglected—takes learning and discovery out of the classroom and laboratory and right into the community.
In Bangladesh, though, the mission of service is usually an afterthought. As disputes over governance and academic politics continue to consume public universities, private universities remain constrained by a regulatory framework that primarily evaluates them based on adherence to conventional academic standards. They are seldom measured—or incentivized—on making a positive impact on community well-being, social entrepreneurship, or national development initiatives.
Case Vignette 1: BRAC University’s COVID-19 Response
During the height of the pandemic, BRAC University launched telemedicine services run by its public health students and faculty members. Health awareness pamphlets and food packages were being distributed to low-income areas in Dhaka by volunteers. These service activities, regardless of their reach and impact, had almost no value in UGC’s accreditation parameters—demonstrating the necessity of an instant infrastructure that respects social contributions.
Why Service Matters in Higher Education
The belief that higher learning institutions should contribute to society is not rhetoric, but practical, measurable, and salvific. Serving society enhances the quality of education in three ways.
First, it improves student learning. Projects based in the community introduce students to real issues that demand critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity. From creating affordable water filters for rural villages, providing legal services to underprivileged communities, or creating digital platforms for farmers, such projects relate theory and practice more effectively than textbooks do.
Second, service increases the relevance of research. Socially active universities come up with research questions that directly address national concerns. For example, Bangladesh’s frequent cyclones and floods necessitate new housing, disaster mitigation, and climate resilience research. Once universities link their research agenda to these social concerns, they both advance science and serve the country.
Third, service confers social legitimacy. In a country where charges at private universities are considered too high for low-income families, demonstration of actual contributions to the broader society reinforces public trust. Service activities dispel the notion that private universities are merely “business enterprises” and present them as socially responsible institutions.
Case Vignette 2: Daffodil International University’s Digital Literacy Drive
Daffodil International University (DIU) has been at the forefront of rural-based digital literacy programs in Bangladesh. Through education in fundamental computer and internet skills to thousands of village youths, DIU not only expanded digital access but also created the foundation for entrepreneurship and home-based employment. These activities directly support national goals of enabling a “Digital Bangladesh”—but are currently not measured in prevailing UGC assessment criteria.
Community Engagement as a Measure of Quality
A private Higher Education Commission (HEC-PU) can be the first such regulatory body in Bangladesh to include community outreach in accreditation and quality assurance processes deliberately.
Rather than limiting evaluation to faculty credentials, research output, and classroom contact hours, the HEC-PU can require universities to demonstrate their contributions to society. Accreditation assessments can look for the following:
Student engagement activities: Whether undergraduates are required to participate in service-learning modules, internships in non-profit agencies, or community-based research.
Faculty-community partnership: Whether local government organizations, civil society, and community-based organizations are provided with access to faculty expertise.
University contributions to national goals: Whether universities link their service programs with Bangladesh’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Case Vignette 3: NSU Students in Flood Relief
North South University (NSU) students have repeatedly mobilized in the context of major floods, offering relief, creating informal learning centers, and raising funds for new house construction. Such events teach students more about resilience, leadership, and social responsibility than is taught in a lecture. Such activity is not within official paradigms of accreditation, however.
Global Lessons: Embedding Service in Higher Education
Bangladesh is not alone in recognizing that universities must move beyond research and teaching to embrace the third mission of service. There are countries in Asia with integrated community engagement in higher education policy settings—models to which Bangladesh can look for the design of a Higher Education Commission for Private Universities (HEC-PU).
Malaysia: Service as an Accreditation Benchmark
Malaysia has pioneered embedding community engagement in the quality assurance framework for its higher education. The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) not only evaluates universities based on research and academic quality but also on contributions that have been made to society. Institutions are required to report what their academic programs do for communities, anything from rural technology access initiatives and health awareness campaigns to start-ups mentored for disadvantaged groups. This has created a culture where service is seen as an add-on accreditation as opposed to a core standard. As a result, Malaysian universities are now regional leaders in both academic quality and social contribution. As their former vice-chancellors of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia explained, “Our students graduate with two degrees—one in their discipline, and one in responsibility to society.”
India: National Service and Social Innovation Grants
India’s recent university reforms have tied academic missions to nation-building and social innovation directly. India’s University Grants Commission has made undergraduate students participate in the National Service Scheme (NSS), a credit program that places students in rural or disadvantaged locations to tackle development problems. Furthermore, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has also set competitive windows of grant funding for private universities to support social innovation ventures in renewable energy, sanitation, and digital literacy. Some of these ventures have expanded into scalable businesses, proof-positive of how grants with focus can translate student-led service into sustainable development solutions. The experience of India provides an example of how, once the service is institutionalized in both funding and curriculum, it significantly affects the culture of academics.
Sri Lanka: Linking Universities to National Development Goals
Sri Lanka presents another lessons-learned experience, that is, linking higher education to national development goals. The Sri Lankan University Grants Commission has made the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) part of the process of accreditation. Universities must demonstrate how their teaching and service work is directly advancing the SDGs—through climate change adaptation, rural health programs, or empowering women. To illustrate, the University of Colombo has a flagship community health project that reaches thousands of rural households each year, combining medical education and direct service. This convergence has not only raised the profile of Sri Lankan universities but also qualified them to access international development funding by proving tangible contributions to global agendas.
Learning from the Philippines: The CHED Model
The Philippines also has a convincing argument. Community engagement, entrepreneurship, and social innovation are core accreditation standards highlighted by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). Filipino universities with community-driven livelihood projects, literacy initiatives, or disaster risk reduction activities are awarded credit points toward performance ratings.
This model not only encouraged universities to engage in service but also enhanced the nation’s international image. Filipino graduates are recognized as professionals and accountable to society worldwide. Bangladesh would be exceptionally advantageous if it applied a similar model through an HEC-PU.
Case Vignette 4: University of the Philippines’ “Pahinungod Program”
By CHED’s structure, the University of the Philippines implemented the Pahinungod Program, wherein students and faculty members went to countryside villages and conducted literacy, health, and livelihood activities. These are integrated into curricula and are counted as part of institutional performance. Bangladesh’s private universities could also do the same if there is a conducive regulatory framework in place.
Transforming Teaching Through Service-Learning
One of the most powerful ways to instill service is by way of service-learning—a pedagogy that integrates civic engagement into classroom courses. Under this model, students earn credit for applying classroom instruction to real-world projects.
Imagine business students working with small entrepreneurs in rural villages to develop accounting software; engineering students designing low-cost water pumps for villages prone to floods; or communication students developing health education campaigns for low-income neighborhoods.
An HEC-PU could mandate that there be at least one credit-bearing service-learning course in all undergraduate programs. This preparation would prepare graduating students to be job-ready and community-ready.
Case Vignette 5: East West University’s Environmental Projects
East West University (EWU) has also included service-learning in some of its environmental science courses, where students work with NGOs in the local community for tree planting, conducting awareness sessions, and taking water samples for lab analysis in peri-urban settings. These activities provide learning pathways as well as contribute to urban sustainability.
Case Vignette 6: Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) and Coastal Resilience
Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) is a compelling case of how private universities can align their academic missions with critical national development imperatives. In 2018, IUB launched a pioneering climate resilience initiative in Bangladesh’s coastal villages, focusing on areas increasingly vulnerable to sea-level rise and cyclones.
The initiative did not restrict itself to purely intellectual research. Environmental scientists, engineers, and social scientists collaborated with local social NGOs and community leaders to generate a viable solution. Students undertook field visits to coastal municipalities, directly interacting with affected families of saltwater intrusion and displacement. They documented local coping mechanisms, helped in the design of low-cost water filters, and drafted policy briefs tabled at local government offices.
The project had three tiers of impact. First, it exposed students to experiential learning that was many times richer than the textbook, preparing them as socially responsible professionals. Second, it yielded applied research outputs—policy briefs, functional prototypes, and community awareness initiatives—that addressed critical social issues. Third, it demonstrated how private universities can shift into national development niches in which government budgets and public universities might be weak.
One faculty administrator at IUB has stated:
“It was never our intention to publish articles. It was intended to support frontline communities in their fight against climate change. That is the sort of service Bangladeshi higher education should stand for.”
This illustration underscores the central argument of this article. Without a dedicated Higher Education Commission for Private Universities (HEC-PU), socially beneficial projects may fall through the gaps or be undermined by the current accreditation systems, which prioritize bureaucratic uniformity over social value.
The Multiplier Effect: When Service Becomes Culture
When universities embed service as an institutional value, the impact riples. Teaching staff produce practice-related, policy-relevant research. Students develop teamwork and problem-solving skills, cherished by employers. Institutions build reputations as respected national partners, attracting philanthropic and international investment.
One vice-chancellor of a private university has stated:
“When our students go out and work in the villages, they come back changed. They do not see problems as an abstraction but as something that they are destined to solve. That is the kind of graduate Bangladesh needs.”
When One University Becomes the Yardstick: The Dhaka University and BUET Benchmark Problem
Perhaps the most frustrating one for private universities is over-reliance on Dhaka University and BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) as de facto “gold standards” of higher learning. In reality, many UGC reviewers discredit innovation by proclaiming, “If Dhaka University or BUET doesn’t have it, why should you?” This chauvinistic benchmarking pays a premium on conformity, stifling creativity and forcing private universities to follow creaky models rather than rivaling the world with innovative programs.
A dean from a private engineering school had this to say:
“Every innovative lab course that we introduce gets diluted to accommodate BUET’s older syllabi. But BUET itself does not feel like updating its syllabi. Someone else is tying us down to their timing instead of our own.”
Similarly, a business studies head of curriculum had this to say:
“We had designed a fintech program with industry input, incorporating blockchain and digital banking modules. The UGC board baulked at the idea, saying Dhaka University didn’t yet have something equivalent. We had to cut back on the most innovative aspects just to get it passed.”
Case Vignette 1: The Biomedical Engineering Program That Never Saw the Light of Day
During 2021, one of the leading private universities in Dhaka created a B.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering with two hospitals and a foreign partner university in Singapore. The curriculum focused on medical device innovation, bioinformatics, and AI-driven diagnostics—fields that squarely addressed Bangladesh’s urgent healthcare needs. Though private donors had established up-to-date laboratories and faculty had been trained overseas, the proposal lay pending before the UGC. The stated rationale was telling: “BUET does not yet have a complete undergraduate biomedical engineering program; alignment is therefore premature.”
Nearly two years later, by the time conditional approval was granted, the majority of the international partners had stepped back, and prospective students who had been waiting for the program had long departed abroad. A potential flagship interdisciplinary program aimed at reversing brain drain and fostering local capability in healthcare technology was hindered by bureaucratic procrastination and demands that BUET’s slower pace should dictate the industry’s future.
Case Vignette 2: The Watered-Down AI & Data Analytics Program
In 2019, another private university developed a very innovative B.Sc. in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics. It included mandatory industry internships, cross-domain modules linking AI to agriculture, health, and logistics, and an intensive hands-on focus on practical machine learning. Employers had secured internship opportunities and research collaborations.
However, when the proposal reached the UGC, experts insisted that it be made compatible with Dhaka University’s Computer Science curriculum, which at that time had only two elective courses covering AI. The result was a watered-down program lacking its innovative cross-disciplinary design. Meanwhile, India and Malaysia, neighboring countries, launched full-fledged AI majors and attracted international students.
As an assistant professor of computer science, I cried:
“We were about to educate the next generation of AI practitioners in Bangladesh. Instead, our alums ended up learning vanilla computer science while their overseas counterparts left them behind.”
Case Vignette 3: Social Sciences and Journalism—Innovation Blocked
The problem extends beyond the STEM fields. A private university’s media studies and journalism program recently introduced courses in podcasting, digital storytelling, and social media analysis—skills now considered essential for international media markets. UGC examiners, however, rejected those courses as “non-standard,” stating that neither Dhaka University’s journalism department nor BUET (of course) had equivalents.
According to one journalism program coordinator:
“When we proposed adding social media analytics to our curriculum, the UGC panel informed us it was not necessary. Six months later, media employers were informing us it was their primary recruitment factor.”
Similarly, in development studies and sociology, proposals to mainstream social entrepreneurship, urban resilience, and climate migration were either shelved or temporarily halted because “Dhaka University does not yet offer such courses.” The irony is that Bangladesh is located at the epicenter of climate displacement, but its private universities are discouraged from leading research and teaching in precisely this area.
The Broader Impact
This Dhaka University–BUET standard assumes that two public institutions, bound by slow public-sector factors, should set the pace of the entire higher education system. The result is a lack of harmony between national needs and scholarship supply:
In engineering and health sciences, it delays programs that would promote indigenous competence and restrict dependence upon foreign-trained personnel.
In IT and emerging technologies, it keeps students in arrears of global developments and makes them less desirable in the global job market.
In the social sciences and humanities, it prevents timely engagement with Bangladesh’s most pressing issues—climate change, urbanization, and digital transformation.
By tethering private universities to outdated public-sector paradigms, the UGC is suppressing innovation at the very institutions most capable of driving Bangladesh’s leap into the knowledge economy.
Policy Recommendation Box: Institutionalizing Service in Private Higher Education in 5 Steps
Create a Service-to-Society Accreditation Metric
Accreditation should not be limited to classrooms, libraries, and labs; it should assess how effectively universities are contributing to the surrounding society. A new Higher Education Commission for Private Universities (HEC-PU) could introduce a “Service-to-Society” metric where institutions have to submit quantifiable community outcomes on an annual basis. These could be the number of lives reached through outreach efforts, policy briefs submitted to the government, or partnerships with local organizations. Universities would be incentivized to develop formal, high-quality service projects as a core part of community impact if making it a formal component of accreditation.
Mandate Service-Learning Courses
To ensure that its graduates are not only professionals but also decent citizens, the HEC-PU can mandate at least one credit-granting service-learning course for every undergraduate. Such courses integrate classroom theory with field-based experiential service in real-world settings—be it environmental conservation, health awareness drives, or computer literacy programs for rural schools. By including service in the formal curriculum, universities can move beyond volunteerism to pedagogy that sharpens both academic and civic skills. This would yield graduates who view service as not charity, but professional responsibility.
Enact Competitive Grants for Social Innovation
Private university faculty and students often develop innovative solutions to domestic problems, but these ideas usually remain unfulfilled due to a lack of funding. An HEC-PU can do so by instituting a social innovation competitive grant program. Universities bid for seed grants to launch projects aligned with country development goals—e.g., climate adaptation, rural healthcare, women entrepreneurship, or renewable energy. This competitiveness would not only promote imagination but also encourage cross-disciplinary solutions. In particular, projects funded under this program can arguably be shown to have a tangible impact on the community level, enhancing private universities’ legitimacy as drivers of national progress.
Link SDGs to Academic Missions
Bangladesh has pledged to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, but implementation requires multi-stakeholder engagement, including higher education institutions. A future private HEC could require that universities explicitly relate their service activities to specific SDGs from climate resilience (SDG 13) to digital connectivity (SDG 9), good health and well-being (SDG 3), and gender equality (SDG 5). This would ensure that service projects are not occasional events but grounded in global and national development agendas. For example, an IT school can create rural e-governance platforms in line with SDG 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions). In contrast, a business school can partner with women entrepreneurs for the advancement of SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth).
Identify and Reward Faculty Engagement
Service must be viewed by faculty as an integral part of their career path, rather than an extracurricular activity, to ensure its sustainability. Now, the tenure and promotion policies in Bangladesh’s private universities emphasize publications and classroom teaching, without any value for community service. The HEC-PU can reorient this by including faculty’s involvement in successful community programs in annual evaluation, promotion, and tenure. Awards could be given in the form of merit points, national service leadership awards, or funding to increase successful programs. These reforms would compel professors to guide students in service-learning, conduct community-based research, and integrate engagement into the academic culture at private universities.
Conclusion: Toward Universities That Serve the Nation
Bangladesh stands at the threshold of transformation. To achieve its development aspirations, it needs universities that go beyond teaching and research to embrace their third mission fully: service. A dedicated Higher Education Commission for Private Universities (HEC-PU) could embed community engagement, social innovation, and national development priorities into accreditation frameworks.
In doing so, Bangladesh would align its universities with the principle that higher education is not only about producing workers or scholars—it is about shaping citizens and building a just, resilient, and prosperous nation.
As John Dewey once said, “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” For Bangladesh, that life must extend beyond campuses into communities, villages, and cities—where the nation’s real battles for equity, resilience, and prosperity
Source: https://southasiajournal.net/service-to-society-beyond-bureaucracy-why-bangladesh-needs-a-separate-higher-education-commission-to-align-academic-missions-with-national-development-goals/