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Higher Education / Data-Driven Policy for Private Higher Education

« Last post by Imrul Hasan Tusher on August 25, 2025, 02:43:36 PM »

Data-Driven Policy for Private Higher Education: Why Bangladesh Must Have a Separate Higher Education Commission for Private Universities

Empowering Bangladesh’s Private Universities Through Data-Driven Policy: A Vision for a Dedicated Higher Education Commission to Foster Innovation, Accountability, and Growth.

“Without data, we are just guessing. With the right data, we can lead.”

Bangladesh’s private tertiary sector is now a pillar of the nation’s tertiary system, enrolling more than half of all tertiary students. The governance of this sector remains rigidly centralized in the University Grants Commission (UGC), an institution still oriented to compliance checklists rather than outcomes. The absence of good-quality, real-time information on graduate employability, research output, student satisfaction, and teacher development has rendered universities rudderless, students uncertain, and policymakers without credible evidence.

This article recommends the imposition of a statutory requirement to establish a Private Higher Education Commission (P-HEC) to formulate and implement evidence-based policies tailored for private universities. This draws on the evidence from Bangladeshis’ own testimonials of administrators and teachers, and on learning from global and regional experiences—particularly in South Korea, Singapore, India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka—and demonstrating how open data can be used to promote trust, underpin incentives, and support accountability. The report concludes with a four-pillar reform agenda: legislation, infrastructure, capacity building, and transparency.

The Missing Compass

True success in higher education systems is not guesswork. It feeds on vision, strategy, and evidence. Governments and regulators in leading economies have long realized that universities flourish when regulation is fact-based, not assumption.

In Bangladesh, the private universities are operating without a reliable compass. The University Grants Commission (UGC), which was established initially to regulate a few public institutions, still attempts to apply blanket policies to a sector that has grown to an astronomic size and complexity.

The policies are initiated without consultation and are not often backed with hard facts. As bluntly explained by one vice-chancellor:

“Policy by assumption rather than policy by evidence has become the norm.”

The consequences are severe:

Program approvals take years, so universities cannot respond to growing sectors such as fintech, data science, or renewable energy.
Research proposals get caught up in inscrutable review, so faculty avoid competitive research.
Faculty development programs are stifled, as conference attendance or international collaboration approvals are so long in coming that the opportunities have expired.
One dean of academic affairs verbalized the frustration this way:

“Every time we approach UGC for an approval of a new program, it is like throwing a stone into a dark well. We are listening for a sound that never occurs.”

Bangladesh needs a governance model where universities are judged not by the number of library seats or the conformity of their syllabi to Dhaka University’s, but by whether students succeed, research matters, and institutions improve. For that, a Private Higher Education Commission (P-HEC)—armed with real-time data—is essential.

The Price of Policy by Assumption
The appeals of administrators and faculty across the private sector are one: the system is measuring the wrong things. UGC remains focused on input, and better measures of success—are ignored.

Employment outcomes are ignored.
A faculty member from the business studies department said, “No UGC person ever asks us how many of our graduates find employment in six months. They want classrooms, chairs, and books. But employability is the actual metric.”

There is no respect for research output.
“We publish in good journals, but when we present these to UGC, they are incapable of distinguishing between Scopus and fake journals. Their evaluation model is three decades old.”

The student satisfaction rate is not observed.
A registrar spoke of: “We ask our students each semester, but UGC doesn’t care to examine the responses. Quality to UGC is whether the syllabus resembles Dhaka University’s. The student voice never exists.”

A professor and program director at NSU expressed her deep frustration:

“When we approach UGC for research funding, we are often told it is reserved only for public universities. On occasions when international scholarship or research grant opportunities are advertised, by the time we inquire, UGC either says the deadline has passed or simply dismisses us, claiming such opportunities are not open to private universities. This pattern of neglect is not accidentally reflects a deliberate bias that consistently favors public universities while sidelining private institutions. The result is systemic discrimination, where the contributions and aspirations of private universities are rendered invisible. Our voice, as private institutions, simply does not exist in their framework.”

 

Table 1. Data Blind Spots in Current UGC Oversight

Domain   What Matters Globally   What UGC Monitors   Resulting Gap
Employment Outcomes   Graduate employability, salaries, career progression   Classrooms, library seats   Employability ignored
Research Output   Indexed publications, citation impact   Faculty headcount, budget line items   Research quality invisible
Student Satisfaction   Teaching/advising surveys, campus experience   Syllabus conformity to DU/BUET   Student voice excluded
Faculty Development   PhD completion, training, collaborations   Faculty headcount, designation   Growth opportunities missed
These examples illustrate a key lesson: data empowers choice, drives accountability, and fuels improvement.

The result is demoralization. Students are unsure whether degrees are marketable. Faculty feel that their work is not seen. Administrators lose credibility with parents. The system creates little excellence, only compliance.

Why Data Matters
In higher education, data is not an entitlement—it is the compass that indicates the direction. Universities and regulators around the globe have come to accept that assumption or anecdote-led decision-making is no longer enough in the 21st century. Data has become the oxygen of higher education governance, shaping funding models, informing student choice, and determining institutional reputation.

Without data, policymaking is guesswork. Universities stray off course, students are misguided, and professors go unremunerated for their work. Yet when data are gathered systematically, examined, and shared, it converts governance into a virtuous circle of trust, duty, and continuous improvement.

Singapore: Data for Families and Policy Makers

Singapore provides one of the superior demonstrations of how information can empower and enlighten families and institutions. Annually, the Ministry of Education (MOE) publishes a Graduate Employment Survey that indicates graduates’ rate of employment and median pay by university and field. This survey is widely used by:

Parents and students determine which programs to take.
Universities in comparing their performance against national peers.
Employers who recognize institutions with a history of producing employable graduates.
The impact is significant. For example, statistics from the survey have shown that information technology and business analytics graduates find jobs sooner and get higher pay than those in some traditional disciplines. As a result, universities have redesigned curricula to be more employable, and policymakers have launched programs to retrain graduates in underperforming areas.

South Korea: Linking Money to Measurable Outcomes

South Korea is more austere: it ties government subsidies to measurable performance. The government tracks research productivity, quality of faculty, and employability of graduates through its National Research Foundation (NRF) and other agencies. Institutions that perform well receive enhanced subsidies and support from the state; poorly performing ones receive cuts.

This system, which is difficult to achieve, has assisted South Korea in accelerating its development as a knowledge economy. Universities are rewarded not only to increase enrollment but to ensure that graduates thrive in the labor market. It encourages professors to publish in top-tier journals and engage in international collaborations, as these actions promote institutional reputation and secure funding. The logic is simple: public money should be targeted where evidence shows it has the most significant impact.

The United Kingdom: Students’ Voices Count

In the UK, the National Student Survey (NSS) is an annual, national student survey asking final-year undergraduates to rate their institutions on teaching quality, academic support, learning resources, and satisfaction. Results are released openly and exert significant influence on university league tables, the media, and prospective students’ choices.

The effect has been transformative. Universities cannot afford to ignore the student voice, as poor scores will have a direct impact on their standing and admissions. Departments that consistently record low satisfaction scores have had to rethink teaching, introduce new advising processes, and create improved facilities. The NSS proves that student satisfaction is no “soft” measure, it is a highly effective driver of accountability and improvement.

Beyond the West: A Global Standard

These practices have been institutionally ingrained worldwide. Australia boasts its Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) framework, which publishes graduate employment, satisfaction, and outcome results in great detail. The European Union’s U-Multirank provides cross-country comparisons of research, teaching, and internationalization. Even in developing countries, tracer studies and research repositories are increasingly being embraced as standard instruments to confirm that universities comply with their obligations.

Bangladesh: The Missing Link

Bangladesh, however, has none of these institutions. The UGC does not conduct systematic graduate tracer surveys or track research productivity in internationally comparable forms. Student satisfaction is never tracked at a national level, and faculty development is invisible to the regulatory system. As a Bangladeshi pro-vice-chancellor put it with frustration:

“Without measure, there can be no control. UGC lacks a measurement culture beyond documentation.”

The consequences are grim:

Parents decide to attend a university on reputation or rumor rather than fact.
Policy makers base policy on anecdote, not fact.
Universities are judged by compliance with outdated templates rather than outcomes.
The Core Message

Data isn’t bureaucracy, it’s the foundation of trust, competition, and accountability. Without it, universities drift helplessly, policy is in the dark, and students lose out. With it, institutions can benchmark, innovate, and compete globally. The question is whether Bangladesh will continue to hold its private higher education sector in the dark or shift to the light of evidence-based leadership.

Comparative Lessons from Asia
4.1 South Korea: Policy-to-Performance

South Korea’s National Research Foundation (NRF) is equipped with real-time dashboards that monitor research productivity, faculty credentials, and graduate employability. The underperforming institutions risk losing funding, which obliges universities to align with national priorities.

4.2 Singapore: Transparency as Trust

Singapore’s Ministry of Education conducts an annual Graduate Employment Survey. Institution-by-institution and program-by-program findings are released to the public. “Without transparency, it’s just marketing slogans,” opined a Singaporean administrator.

4.3 India: Accreditation and Assessment

India’s National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) assesses universities on curriculum planning, teaching, research, and student services. While not flawless, NAAC has forced institutions to rely on measurable criteria and monitor progress.

4.4 Malaysia: MyMOHEs Dashboards

MyMOHE, an online portal providing up-to-date enrollment, employability, and research statistics, is maintained by Malaysia’s Ministry of Higher Education. Employers use it for informing recruitment decisions, and policymakers for informing incentives.

4.5 Sri Lanka: Graduate Tracer Studies

Sri Lanka publishes national tracer studies regularly, tracking where graduates work and how their disciplines perform in the job market. These statistics have given rise to policy actions explicitly targeted, for example, skill schemes for arts graduates.

Table 2. Regional Models of Data-Driven Higher Education Policy

Country   Key Mechanism   Focus Areas   Relevance for Bangladesh
South Korea   NRF Dashboards   Research output, employability   Funding linked to outcomes
Singapore   MOE Graduate Employment Survey   Employment, salaries, career outcomes   Transparency builds trust
India   NAAC Accreditation   Curriculum, research, student services   Benchmarks for quality
Malaysia   MyMOHEs Dashboards   Enrollment, employability, research   Real-time public data
Sri Lanka   Graduate Tracer Studies   Discipline-specific employability   Targeted policy design
These illustrations have a simple lesson to convey data promotes choice, encourages accountability, and speeds up improvement.

How a Private HEC Can Change Policy
Establishing a Private Higher Education Commission (P-HEC) would not be yet another bureaucratic reorganization; it would be a revolutionary shift in the way Bangladesh oversees its private universities. Private institutions were treated as offshoots of the public model for decades, governed by inflexible and outdated benchmarks rather than results relevant to students, employers, and society. A P-HEC can transform the culture of governance from paperwork to performance, from control to collaboration, and from assumption to evidence.

This change would be based on three interconnected pillars: establishing a centralized data infrastructure, crafting evidence-based policy, and building trust and accountability through openness.

5.1 Centralized Data Infrastructure

At the hub of an up-to-date regulatory system is a national higher education data dashboard. A P-HEC might create a system whereby all private universities submit normalized data on sets of agreed-upon indicators, verified and updated each year (or even each quarter). This would be a revolution compared with UGC’s current reporting, which is mainly descriptive and compliance checklist driven.

Why these matters

Presently, no Bangladeshi student can log on to a government website and view how the University X graduates perform in the job market compared to University Y. Parents must rely on reputation, marketing hype, or rumor.
It is not straightforward for employers to identify which schools reliably produce the most skilled graduates.
There is no option but to guess for policymakers, since there is no evident evidence of which institutions are creating value.
What it could look like:

Graduate Employment Outcomes: Figures collected through tracer surveys at 6 and 12 months after graduation. This would allow policymakers to notice, for example, whether engineering graduates from certain universities are reaching 90% employment in six months while others lag at 50%.
Research Productivity: Systematic collection of faculty publications, indexed in Scopus or Web of Science, with numbers of citations. Dashboards may track collaborative networks, showing the number of faculty participating in international research collaborations.
Student Satisfaction: Standardized questionnaires, administered annually, would feed into a national database. These questionnaires could focus on teaching quality, availability of academic advising, campus facilities, and extracurricular activities.
Staff Development: Universities and colleges would indicate how many of their staff hold PhDs, the number of hours of professional development offered annually, and the frequency with which they have visiting scholar programs.
Globally, such dashboards already exist. Malaysia’s MyMOHEs, for example, provides real-time enrollment and employability statistics. Singapore’s Graduate Employment Survey provides salary and employment rates by discipline. A P-HEC dashboard would allow Bangladesh to join the global trend, with decision-making informed by evidence.

5.2 Evidence-Based Policy Design

When evidence is available, policy can move beyond one-size-fits-all regulations to evidence-based incentives and interventions. Presently, UGC treats all private universities equally—whether they are world-class research universities or low-achieving institutions that pass the bare minimum. Such blanket treatment dampens ambition and discourages excellence.

With evidence-based policy:

The best-performing programs can be rewarded with quick approvals for new degrees, growth, or partnerships. For example, a perennially high-performing business school can quickly approve a new master’s degree without years of bureaucratic hassle.
Research universities with better research outputs can have access to highly competitive grants or international partnership programs as a top priority.
These low-performing institutions would not only be penalized but also be requested to submit corrective action plans, with improvement mechanisms to enhance. For example, if a university’s student satisfaction levels have been in the red zone for three consecutive years, it would be requested to reengineer curricula, improve advising, and submit progress reports.
This model is already implemented elsewhere. In South Korea, employability and research productivity are directly linked to funding formulas. In India, reputation is affected by NAAC scores, and eligibility for grants and recognition is affected as well. A P-HEC can adopt a hybrid approach—merging incentives for excellence with interventions upon underperformance.

5.3 Trust and Accountability

One of the strongest frailties of the current regulatory environment is a lack of public trust. Parents and students often report a lack of reliable information to determine which private university is superior to another. The result is over-reliance upon prestige, location, or anecdote—factors not necessarily aligned with academic quality or job prospects.

A P-HEC can reinstate trust by keeping information open.

For students and teachers: Public dashboards would provide valid, comparable information about employment rates, student satisfaction, and teaching qualifications. The choice to attend a university would be an educated one, not a gamble.
For employers: Companies can identify who produces consistently good graduates with the right skills. Industry-university connections would strengthen in the long run.
For universities: High-performing institutions would finally be recognized. Rather than being lumped together with their poorer-performing colleagues, high-performing universities would be able to showcase their merits with government-verified data.
Transparency has a disciplining effect as well. One Bangladeshi faculty leader put it this way:

“When data are open, excuses vanish. Everyone must confront the truth, and that truth spurs change.”

Table 3. Proposed Dashboard Indicators for a Private HEC

Category   Indicators
Employment Outcomes   % employed in 6 months, median salary, industry distribution
Research Productivity   Publications per faculty, citation index, collaborations
Student Satisfaction   Teaching quality, advising, infrastructure, campus life
Faculty Development   % PhD faculty, training hours, visiting scholar exchanges
Equity & Access   Scholarships, gender balance, first-generation student outcomes
Why This Transformation Matters

The combination of centralized data, evidence-based policy, and transparent accountability would be a revolution for Bangladesh’s private universities. Approvals for programs would no longer depend on whether the syllabus is a reverse replica of Dhaka University’s. Research by faculty would no longer go unrewarded. Parents would no longer choose institutions in secrecy.

Instead, the system would reward outcomes, expose weaknesses, and give all stakeholders confidence that the sector is being led towards greatness. In practical terms, a P-HEC would allow one to answer such queries as:

Which private universities produce the most hirable engineers?
Which courses yield the most foreign research collaborations?
Which schools do the best in educating first-generation college students?
These aren’t technical questions; they are the foundation of national competitiveness in a knowledge economy.

The Human Cost of the Status Quo
The absence of reliable, open, and systematically collected information in Bangladesh’s higher education is not only a technical deficiency; it has profound human consequences. It affects the career choices of students, demotivates staff, and erodes institutions’ reputations in the eyes of society. The cost is incurred every day in terms of missed opportunities, wasted talent, and wasted trust.

6.1 Students Graduate into Uncertainty

For students, university studies are supposed to be a passport to opportunity. But in Bangladesh, the majority of students graduate without a clear understanding of their prospects in the job market.

One career service director openly admitted:

“They ask us about jobs. We cannot answer truthfully because nobody collects the data.”

Without graduate employment studies or tracer studies, universities cannot inform students:

What percentage of alums got jobs within six months?
Typically, which industries are hiring the graduates of a specific course?
Typically, what the median starting salary is for particular courses.
Nations like Australia or Singapore regularly provide such information, enabling students to make informed decisions. An aspiring engineering student in Singapore, for example, not only gets to see the employment ratio but also the median monthly income of new graduates. Students in Bangladesh are left with uncertain futures and unsubstantiated promises.

This uncertainty has costs. Families spend life’s savings on private university education, sometimes mortgaging land or borrowing. When graduates lack clear paths to jobs, disillusionment is not merely personal—it is economic and intergenerational.

6.2 Faculty Are Feeling Disillusioned

Scholars are the anchors of academic achievement, yet when their work is ignored or devalued, morale collapses.

One mid-career researcher spoke of his disillusionment:

“I have ceased making applications for UGC research grants. The process is non-transparent, the criteria stale, outcomes adverse.”

Faculty encounter several barriers:

Research invisibility: International journal publications are not identified well by UGC, so sophisticated scholarships find no policy relevance.
Funding bottlenecks: Applications for research grants tend to vanish into administrative black holes.
Professional stagnation: Training or conference-going opportunities are postponed by the approval process after events have occurred.
In such systems where tracking of research is good, faculty careers thrive. For example, in South Korea, research output is mechanistically linked to promotion and funding. In Malaysia, research indicators directly feed into institutional rankings, pushing collaboration and innovation.

In Bangladesh, on the other hand, professors often get the sense they are composing scholarship in a void, unseen and unrewarded. The result is not only demotivation—it is flight of talent, because scholars seek opportunities elsewhere where they can be appreciated.

6.3 Administrators Lose Credibility

University administrators—vice-chancellors, registrars, deans—are tasked to convince families, employers, and the broader community that their institutions add value. But without official data, their credibility is irretrievably lost.

As one admissions director explained:

“Parents want to know: how do our graduates measure up to DU or BUET? We don’t have official numbers to provide.”

That leaves administrators in a corner, forced to resort to anecdotal testimony. They may show outstanding examples of individual graduates, but without government-validated overall evidence, such stories are weak at best.

The lack of legitimacy has a ripple effect:

They are unwilling to pay out for private universities for fear that they will not offer the same opportunities as state-funded ones.
Would-be employers remain skeptical, opting to take recruits from “established” institutions rather than look at evidence of graduate achievement.
The sector in general suffers credibility, with private universities unfairly stigmatized as “second tier” even when this is not the case.
In transparent dashboard countries—such as Malaysia’s MyMOHEs or Sri Lanka’s graduate tracer studies—officials can proudly show evidence of outcomes. In Bangladesh, officials go in empty-handed, keepers of paper but not evidence.

6.4 The Broader Social Consequences

The social costs of this vacuum of data go beyond individuals to the broader society:
Misalignment of the economy: Bangladesh needs skills in ICT, renewable energy, logistics, and health sciences. Policymakers are unaware whether universities are producing adequate numbers of these graduates—or too many in others—due to the lack of data.
Inequity and access gaps: Without tracking first-generation students or gender gaps, inequities go undetected and unaddressed.
Brain drain: Top-performing students and faculty depart the nation, not only for more money, but for locales where outcomes are measured and prized.
6.5 Summary: Data as Human Dignity

Essentially, a deficiency in data is a denial of responsibility and dignity. Students are entitled to know whether their degrees will lead to jobs. Staff are entitled to see that their efforts are valued and rewarded. Administrators are entitled to demonstrate the value of their institution. And society is entitled to be able to trust that the billions invested in higher education are producing real dividends.

As it was warned by one vice-chancellor:

We do not fear asking questions. We fear becoming obsolete. Without data, our universities can become ceremonial, which is to say, ineffectual.

The human cost is too high to continue with the status quo. A data-driven P-HEC is not just a question of enhancing governance effectiveness—it is a question of restoring hope, credibility, and respect for Bangladesh’s private higher education.

Towards a Roadmap for Reform
Reform must be founded on four pillars.

7.1 Legislation

Enact a law to establish the Private Higher Education Commission with a clear mandate over data collection, release, and evidence-informed policymaking. Appoint a Chief Data Officer to set standards and ensure methodological integrity. Safeguard academic freedom by regulating results, not ideas.

7.2 Infrastructure

Create a National Platform for Higher Education Data with secure institutional portals, validation systems, and real-time dashboards. Adopt international standards such as UNESCO ISCED to assure comparability. Pilot in a dozen universities before national rollout.

7.3 Capacity Building

Invest in IR units at institutions. Train registrars, deans, and career services officers to read dashboards and improve their performance. Host Data for Learning Summits where universities share innovations. Offer recognition awards to encourage adoption.

7.4 Transparency & Accountability

Enforce an annual State of Private Higher Education Report. Release standardized outcome cards for all universities in employment, research, and student satisfaction. Give incentives to high achievers with fast-track approvals and innovation grants. Implement demand correction action plans for chronic underachievers.

Conclusion: From Guessing to Leading
Bangladesh’s private universities are trapped in a regulatory culture that favors compliance over innovation and inputs over outcomes. The UGC’s paper-based regulation is incapable of delivering the kind of dynamic, innovative higher education that Bangladesh’s youth so urgently need.

A Private Higher Education Commission, with data-driven guidance, can replace assumptions with evidence, suspicion with trust, and bureaucracy with leadership.

As a vice-chancellor of one university put it, with frustration and hope:

“We don’t fear accountability. We fear becoming irrelevant. If you give us room and information, we will create universities that can compete on any global stage.”

Bangladesh has a choice today: guess in the dark as of old, or dauntingly enter the era of evidence-based leadership.

Source: https://southasiajournal.net/data-driven-policy-for-private-higher-education-why-bangladesh-must-have-a-separate-higher-education-commission-for-private-universities/

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Islam & Science / জরিপ - তালাক কেন হচ্ছে !!

« Last post by Imrul Hasan Tusher on August 25, 2025, 11:14:09 AM »

জরিপ - তালাক কেন হচ্ছে !!

তালাক কেন হচ্ছে জানার জন্য গত ৯ মাস ধরে আমি ২৪৫ জন তালাক প্রাপ্ত পুরুষ ও মহিলার সাথে কথা বলেছি, কেন তালাক হলো। এর মধ্যে ৭২% তালাক হয়েছে ভুলবুঝা বুঝি একে অপরকে অসন্মান করার জন্য। আর ১৮℅ তালাকের কারণ পরকীয়া। ১০% তালাক স্ত্রীর উচ্চ বিলাসিতার কারণে। ৭৮℅ তালাক হয়েছে মেয়ের কারণে। ২২℅ পুরুষের দোষে।

মজার বিষয় হলো ৯২℅ তালাকপ্রাপ্ত মহিলা ও পুরুষ তালাকের পরে সত্যিই অনুতপ্ত। তারা বলছে সিদ্ধান্তটি আসলে ভুলছিলো। তালাক প্রাপ্ত ৮৯℅ মেয়েদের চেষ্টা করেও আর বিয়ে হচ্ছে না।

০৪℅ মেয়ের বিয়ের প্রতি অনিহা। ০৭℅ মেয়ে পথভ্রষ্টা। ছেলেদের মধ্যে ৮৫ ℅ পূনঃবিয়ে করে সংসার করছে।

১৩℅ ছেলে বিয়ের প্রতি অনিহা। ০২ ℅ ছেলে পথভ্রষ্ট।

আরো মাজার বিষয় হলো ১ম স্ত্রীকে তালাক দেওয়া ৬৭℅ ছেলেই কুমারি মেয়ে বিয়ে করেছে। কিন্তু মেয়েরা তালাকপ্রাপ্তির যারা দ্বিতীয় বিয়ে করেছে তারা কুমার ছেলে পেয়েছে মাত্র ০০১℅।

আমি তালাকের বিরুদ্ধে তাই এই জরিপ করেছি। যারা দাম্পত্য জীবন নিয়ে হতাশ তাদের পরামর্শকের কাজ করতে চাই। চাইলে আমার সাথে যোগাযোগ করতে পারেন। প্লিজ তালাক দেওয়ার আগে ভাবুন আবার ভাবুন। দেখুন কোনভাবে সমযতা করা যায় কিনা।

সততার পথেই সঠিক পথ যা আল্লাহ পছন্দ করেন। দ্বিতীয় বিয়ের পরে ১২℅ মেয়ের আবারও তালাক হয়েছে। সুতরাং আগে সতর্ক থাকুন। পরে পস্তাতে যাবেন না। আরো জেনে নিন ৮৯% মেয়ে দ্বিতীয় সংসারে অসুখি।

অপর দিকে মাত্র ০২℅ ছেলের আবারও তালাক হয়েছে আর অসুখি ০৩℅ পুরুষ।

আরও অবাক করা বিষয় হলো দ্বিতীয় তালাক দেওয়া ছেলেদের যাদের স্ত্রী হয়েছিল কোন তালাক প্রাপ্ত মহিলা। আর বিধ্বা মহিলাকে বিয়ে করে চরম সুখি ৯৩℅ পুরুষ। আশাকরি বুঝতে পারছেন।

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abdul-mazed-bd_%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%95-%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%A8-%E0%A6%B9%E0%A6%9A%E0%A6%9B-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%AF-%E0%A6%97%E0%A6%A4-%E0%A7%AF-%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%B8-%E0%A6%A7%E0%A6%B0-%E0%A6%86%E0%A6%AE-activity-7365317141866143745-sFJt/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android&rcm=ACoAAADdVS0BU_3bq6QqkzO5KbLBhoTijDhJY4Q

3

Google Bard/Gemini / জেমিনি জেমস কী? যেভাবে ব্যবহার করবেন

« Last post by Imrul Hasan Tusher on August 24, 2025, 04:56:56 PM »

জেমিনি জেমস কী? যেভাবে ব্যবহার করবেন

গুগলের কৃত্রিম বুদ্ধিমত্তা চ্যাটবট জেমিনি–তে দারুণ একটি ফিচার রয়েছে। জেমিনি জেমস নামের এই ফিচারের মাধ্যমে ব্যবহারকারীরা নিজেদের মতো করে কাস্টম চ্যাটবট তৈরি করতে পারবেন। অর্থাৎ প্রতিবার নির্দেশনা না লিখেই আপনি নির্দিষ্ট কাজের জন্য আলাদা “জেমস” বানাতে পারবেন।

জেমিনি জেমস কী?

জেমিনি জেমস মূলত গুগল জেমিনির কাস্টম সংস্করণ। এখানে ব্যবহারকারীরা বিশেষ কিছু নির্দেশনা এবং প্রয়োজনীয় নলেজ ফাইল যুক্ত করতে পারেন। ফলে প্রতিবার নতুন করে তথ্য না দিলেও সেই জেম আপনার পূর্বের নির্দেশনার ভিত্তিতেই উত্তর তৈরি করবে।

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মনে রাখতে হবে, গুগল জেমিনি শব্দটি কেবল চ্যাটবট নয়। পুরো এআই মডেল পরিবারের নাম। এখানে “জেমিনি জেমস” বলতে শুধুমাত্র চ্যাটবটের কাস্টম সংস্করণকে বোঝানো হচ্ছে।

যেভাবে ব্যবহার করবেন জেমিনি জেমস

যারা আগে থেকে কাস্টম GPTs বা Zapier চ্যাটবট ব্যবহার করেছেন, তাদের কাছে জেমস তৈরির প্রক্রিয়াটা অনেকটা পরিচিত লাগবে। তবে কিছু শর্ত রয়েছে-

জেম বানাতে হলে আপনার একটি গুগল অ্যাকাউন্ট থাকতে হবে।

জেম আপনি ওয়েব এবং মোবাইল অ্যাপে ব্যবহার করতে পারবেন, তবে তৈরি ও এডিট করতে পারবেন কেবল ওয়েব সংস্করণে।
ধাপে ধাপে প্রক্রিয়া

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Instructions Field–এ লিখুন, প্রতিবার উত্তর দেওয়ার আগে আপনার জেম কী কী বিষয় মাথায় রাখবে।
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এবার আপনার জেম জেমিনি হোমপেজের সাইড প্যানেলে যুক্ত হবে।

জেম কাস্টমাইজ : এডিট, কপি ও ডিলিট

জেম এডিট করা

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প্রয়োজনীয় পরিবর্তন শেষে Update করুন।

জেম ডুপ্লিকেট করা

যেই জেম কপি করতে চান, তার পাশে তিন–ডট (⋮) মেনুতে ক্লিক করুন।
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Delete নির্বাচন করুন।
এই ফিচার কেন গুরুত্বপূর্ণ

বাংলাদেশসহ বিশ্বের বহু তরুণ এখন এআই–ভিত্তিক প্রোডাক্টিভিটি টুল ব্যবহার করছেন। বিশেষত যারা ফ্রিল্যান্সিং, ডিজিটাল মার্কেটিং, কনটেন্ট ক্রিয়েশন কিংবা সফটওয়্যার ডেভেলপমেন্টের সঙ্গে যুক্ত, তাদের জন্য জেমিনি জেমস হতে পারে সময় ও শ্রম বাঁচানোর এক কার্যকর সমাধান।

একটি জেম তৈরি করে রাখলে প্রতিবার নির্দেশনা লিখতে হয় না। একই সঙ্গে, ভিন্ন ভিন্ন কাজের জন্য আলাদা জেম বানিয়ে রাখা যায়। যেমন- News Writer Gem, Coding Assistant Gem, কিংবা SEO Research Gem।

প্রযুক্তি জগত দ্রুত এগিয়ে যাচ্ছে। গুগল জেমিনি জেমস সেই অগ্রগতির আরেকটি নতুন দিক। যা ব্যবহারকারীদের আরও স্বাধীনতা দিচ্ছে এআইকে নিজেদের মতো কাজে লাগানোর। তরুণ প্রজন্মের জন্য এটি কেবল সুবিধাজনকই নয়। বরং প্রতিযোগিতামূলক দুনিয়ায় একধাপ এগিয়ে থাকার সুযোগও এনে দিচ্ছে।

Source: https://www.dhakapost.com/technology/388550

4

Higher Education / Empowering Leaders, Building Institutions

« Last post by Imrul Hasan Tusher on August 23, 2025, 03:08:11 PM »

Empowering Leaders, Building Institutions: Why Bangladesh Needs to Establish an Independent Higher Education Commission for Private Universities in BD

Caption: Visionary Leadership for a New Era: Championing Reform through an Independent Higher Education Commission in Bangladesh

“Strong institutions are created by strong leaders—and strong leaders require room to lead.”

At the Crossroads of Promise and Constraint

The present higher education system in Bangladesh stands at a crossroads. Private universities have made spectacular strides since the Private University Act of 1992 was passed. Today, over 110 private universities have over half of all higher education students enrolled in their roles, positioning them not only as complementary players but also as the pivot of the nation’s intellectual future. The quality—or absence thereof—of these universities will decide Bangladesh’s capacity to innovate, its economic competitiveness, and its capacity to cultivate the next generation of leaders.

But for all their undeniable worth, private universities are still constrained by a governance system that refuses to let them become real agents of change. They are saddled with limited autonomy, excessive micromanaging, and no systematic cultivation of leadership. The issue is not a dearth of talent or vision—Bangladeshi academics have proved they can compete anywhere in the globe—but that the University Grants Commission (UGC) is more of a drag than an enabler.

Vice-chancellors, deans, and department chairs are typically chosen based on their qualifications as scholars, but once in office, they often find themselves managing compliance. Rather than focusing on strategic expansion, global collaborations, or research distinction, they spend hours waiting for UGC approvals—whether for curriculum changes, program initiations, overseas collaborations, or small research grants.

As one exasperated academic administrator described it:

“We are meant to compete with the world, yet our regulators tie our hands. Here, leadership is reduced to paperwork and waiting for approval.”

This procedure takes meaning away from leadership. It transforms responsibilities of vision and accountability into ceremonial roles of authority. Leaders cannot lead; they can only administer.

The purpose of this article is to argue that the fate of Bangladesh’s private universities depends on enabling academic leadership. To achieve this, there must be a definite shift: investment in developing leaders, autonomy accompanied by accountability, and building governance structures that reward innovation instead of punishing it. Learning from South and East Asia—Singapore’s autonomous university boards, Malaysia’s Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT), and South Korea’s system-wide governance reforms—the article demonstrates that when leaders are empowered and trusted, institutions flourish.

Unless Bangladesh learns similar reforms and resets UGC’s role, private universities will remain trapped in cycles of average quality, tormented by bureaucratic lethargy rather than being driven by the desire to excel.

Why Leadership Matters for Institutional Growth

Leadership is the most critical determinant of whether a university thrives or falls behind. Across the globe, empowered academic leaders have led the charge for institutional transformation.

Consider Singapore: when the government transitioned away from a ministerially governed university board structure early in the 2000s, NUS and NTU leaders were free to design curricula, hire foreign faculty, and build industry partnerships without needing permission from the minister. Both institutions were placed in the international top 20 within two decades. The same applies to South Korea’s reforms during the 1990s, when institutions were accorded autonomy to diversify sources of funding, internationalize, and align programs with the needs of the labor market.

The reverse is the case in Bangladesh. UGC micromanaging chokes leadership. Vice-chancellors spend time seeking approvals rather than building strategies. Dean’s pen creative curricula only to see them languish in approval queues. Department chairs attempt to facilitate faculty research but cannot distribute funds without clearance.

A dean at a top private university described this frustration succinctly:

“We developed a master’s degree in data science because there was unequivocal demand in the marketplace. Curriculum was ready, faculty was ready, and employers were ready. Approval from the UGC, though, took nearly two years. India and Malaysia were already graduating data science students when we opened. We lost credibility, and our students lost opportunity.”

This situation illustrates how UGC delays not only kill innovation but also discredit the legitimacy of academic leadership. Students and parents lose confidence in institutions whose top leaders cannot execute timely programs. Professors lose enthusiasm when their work is repeatedly blocked or vetoed. And the nation loses competitiveness when its universities lag behind regional peers.

The lesson is that leadership is most significant when leaders have authority. Without it, leadership becomes symbolic and not practical.

Building Leadership Capacity: Training and Development

Educational leadership requires a strange set of skills. A vice-chancellor must be capable of articulating vision, managing finances, inspiring staff, building partnerships, and navigating politics—without sacrificing academic integrity. Deans and chairs must balance the interests of the faculty with institutional needs, foster innovation, and maintain quality research and instruction. Those are challenging assignments, and they cannot be acquired by scholarship.

In Bangladesh, however, systematic training of academic administrators is nonexistent or minimal. Administrative jobs are often assumed to be based on academic credentials or political loyalties rather than managerial training. Once in office, leaders are expected to “learn on the job.” Without formal training, many muddle through, mistake by mistake—a costly exercise for institutions and individuals alike.

A department chair recalled:

“My PhD trained me as a researcher and not as a manager. Suddenly, I was responsible for budgets, student grievances, faculty member conflicts, and strategic planning. There is nowhere to learn these tasks in Bangladesh. When we try to arrange international workshops or collaborations to build leadership, UGC keeps it pending or rejects the project as non-essential.”

Other Asian countries have invested a lot in leadership development.

Malaysia set up the Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT) to systematically train deans, vice-chancellors, and chairs. AKEPT offers governance, financial management, and strategic leadership training. AKEPT graduates assert that they are more confident and can act—because they too have the power of action. Malaysian scholars benefit directly from leaders who have the authority to sanction funds and collaborations with immediate effect.
Execution of executive training for its academic leaders at international organizations like Harvard, INSEAD, and regional leadership centers ensures that Singapore’s leaders are given global exposure, managerial skills, and an international perspective.
India has tested leadership workshops under the University Grants Commission and the Indian Institutes of Management. While clumsily rolled out, the tests show a realization that leadership cannot be a matter of luck.
Sri Lanka, with World Bank-supported projects, launched leadership development initiatives for administrators at higher education institutions. Even in a bureaucratic setup, these initiatives improved governance capacity in certain universities.
Bangladesh lags far behind. There is no AKEPT counterpart or Singapore’s leadership academies. Even when universities attempt to do something independently, UGC hinders or delays such initiatives.

The solution is straightforward: Bangladesh needs to establish a National Leadership Academy for Higher Education to prepare vice-chancellors, deans, and chairs. Such an academy would arrange formal courses, mentorship programs, and fellowships abroad. But unless UGC steps back and allows the universities the autonomy to fund and organize such training independently, even this solution risks turning into another bureaucratic formality.

Eliminating Micromanagement: The Autonomy to Lead

The most damaging hindrance to university leadership in Bangladesh could be micromanaging by the UGC. In theory, UGC must remain the protector of quality and accountability. In practice, it becomes a gatekeeper that delays, obstructs, and often stops innovation.

A vice-chancellor mentioned a lost opportunity:

“We negotiated a twinned MBA with a top-ranked foreign university. The partner was eager, the staff were enthusiastic, and the employers were open. But the UGC clearance lasted 18 months. In that time, the partner had cold feet and backed out. Instead of welcoming innovation, our regulators strangulated it.”

Micromanagement infects all aspects of leadership:

Syllabus reform: Reforming an existing curriculum by incorporating new subjects like AI or renewable energy has very long clearance periods. By the time clearance is received, the curriculum is outdated.
New courses: Adding a new degree or certificate can take years of back-and-forth with UGC. This puts universities perpetually behind in responding to labor market changes.
Research funding support: Even minor internal research grants must be approved by UGC. Faculty members are deprived of the autonomy to undertake time-bound projects.
International partnership: MOUs with foreign universities or visiting professors are routinely subject to approval by UGC, which is usually too late.
Comparisons emphasize the price tag:

India, despite its red tape, has begun shifting to outcome-based accreditation. Institutions are assessed on research productivity, graduate employability, and international collaborations. This encourages innovation rather than stifles it.
Pakistan’s HEC sets general standards but offers universities curricular autonomy and more autonomy in collaboration. Academics there can move more rapidly on foreign endeavors than their Bangladeshi counterparts.
Singapore and Hong Kong provide universities with autonomy through self-governing boards. Government intervention is reserved for finances and strategic direction, not day-to-day decision-making.
South Korea’s change provided universities with autonomy to receive diversified income and become global, catapulting them higher in world rankings.
Bangladesh’s model is the reverse. UGC clearance is needed even for a small initiative. Leaders are not allowed to act boldly. Innovation is penalized with delay.

Unless UGC moves from process-based micromanagement to performance-based accountability, Bangladeshi leaders will be impotent.

Faculty Perspectives: On the Frontline of Frustration

While policy reasoning usually patronizes vice-chancellors, boards of trustees, or the UGC, it is the academic staff—professors, lecturers, and researchers—who face the most drastic ramifications of over-controlling administration. Staff are caught between the regulatory measures imposed by UGC and the limitations set by university leadership. Their day-to-day existence manifests the immediate relationship of micromanaging and delayed sanctioning into punctured teaching, stalled research, and diminished opportunities for students.

A leading professor in a well-known private university described how regulatory jams strangle intellectual ingenuity:

“We want to develop new interdisciplinary majors that reflect the diversity of the modern workplace—e.g., a blend of media studies and data analytics, environmental science and public policy. Our dean is supportive. But each proposal gets stuck in UGC’s approval process. When clearance comes, finally, the industry needs have shifted, and student interest has cooled. Innovation is suffocated before it even begins.”

To junior professors, such limitations appear all the more depleting. A lecturer from Dhaka explained how UGC micromanaging robs teaching and research of being punctual:

“They genuinely want to assist us, our leaders, but when even a small research grant or scholarly collaboration needs to be approved by UGC, we lack the enthusiasm. Research thrives on timeliness. Leadership without real powers is symbolic not functional. It turns us into risk-averse people, and in academia, it is where the innovations take place.”

These sentiments echo widely. Conducted surveys of Dhaka and Chattogram teachers reveal chronic complaints: inordinate delays for UGC clearance of new courses, bans on foreign collaborations, and administrative hurdles for travel to conferences or foreign research grants. Teachers across the board emphasized that UGC regulatory measures—intended to uphold quality—succeed only in undermining quality by discouraging timely innovation.

A mid-career researcher explained how a promising collaboration fell through under UGC’s slow process:

“We had locked in interest from a European partner for a climate resilience project—a sector immediately applicable to Bangladesh’s development issues. But because UGC approval took almost a year, the window of funding shut. Our Indian and Sri Lankan colleagues progressed while we remained behind. The tragedy is that it wasn’t a question of talent or preparedness; it was plain governance paralysis.”

Their consequences extend beyond projects. They affect professional decisions. Many qualified young scholars increasingly seek alternatives in other nations where leadership autonomy entails real support of the faculty. An author who recently moved to Malaysia described:

“I did not leave because of pay. I left because of academic freedom. My dean in Malaysia can approve seed money within weeks, not years. Even committed leaders here cannot assist us because their hands are tied by UGC.”

The cost in human terms is ghastly: a brain drains of the very brains needed to push Bangladesh’s higher education to the next level.

Regional Comparisons: A Tale of Contrasts

The experience of the faculty in Bangladesh is sharply different from other Asian countries, where governance reforms have facilitated leaders to support academic communities more effectively.

India: While India’s system, too, is bureaucratic, reforms by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA) and the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) have shifted the focus from process to outcome. The faculty members now have a setting conducive to teaching innovation and research productivity. Private colleges such as Ashoka and O.P. Jindal Global University demonstrate the way empowered leadership creates fertile soil for faculty-initiated innovation. Bangladeshi faculty view UGC delaying or blocking the same innovations, in contrast.

Pakistan: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) offers universities greater leeway to frame curricula and pursue foreign collaborations. There, instructors typically remark that although political interference remains an issue, administrators have greater discretionary authority to approve projects and research grants. Bangladeshi scholars remain trapped in a situation where UGC clearance is required for every step, turning opportunities into missed potential.

Sri Lanka: While still grumbling about bureaucracy, professors have experienced shorter approval times for modest research grants with the help of directed reforms supported by the World Bank, and academic administrators have been trained. Incremental empowerment reduces the likelihood of junior academics leaving the system to go abroad. In Bangladesh, it would be impossible without UGC reform.

Malaysia: AKEPT trains deans and department chairs to support the faculty directly. There, leaders are given the authority to grant funding and enable cross-disciplinary projects, especially in priority fields such as biotechnology and digital innovation. Faculty morale is significantly improved. In Bangladesh, foreign-trained deans return with new ideas, only to be held back by UGC procedures.

Singapore: Professors can work in Asia’s most enabling setting. With university councils that act independently and provide broad latitude to presidents and deans, research proposals and program creation move with remarkable speed. As one NUS faculty member said, an interview published in print: “Here, leadership doesn’t block; it accelerates. When your dean says yes, it actually means yes.” In Bangladesh, however, a dean’s “yes” can be meaningless until UGC bureaucracy is settled.

South Korea: In the 1990s, South Korea introduced autonomy reforms that allowed universities to internationalize on an aggressive scale. The faculty had easier approval for collaboration, competitive research grants, and international faculty exchange. The reforms also provided leaders with the power to act authoritatively. Bangladeshi faculties remain bogged down in UGC’s culture of delay as their regional counterparts push forward ahead of them.

A Central Truth

The contrast between East and South Asia spotlights a brutal fact: professors thrive when leadership is free to empower them. Empowering leadership has nothing to do with ceremony, titles, or status; it is about creating conditions in which professors are empowered to innovate in the classroom, receive research grants, and engage globally without stalling and deliberating over procuring permissions.

Without such authority, Bangladesh’s universities will continue to export their brightest brains abroad. Without empowered academics, faculty members cannot create innovative courses, access timely research grants, or establish international collaborations. And without empowered academics, universities cannot offer quality education or become internationally recognized.

Here is what one academic had to say about it:

“We are not looking for miracles. We are looking for trust—trust in our leadership to remain with us, and trust in us to deliver. Without that trust, we are going through the motions as the rest of the region moves forward.”

Comparative Lessons: South Asia and East Asia

The challenge in Bangladesh is not singular, but the regional comparison is instructive.

India: Bureaucracy persists, yet reforms via accreditation emphasize performance. Ashoka and O.P. Jindal Global private institutions thrive as regulators allowed innovation. UGC in Bangladesh delays the same.
Pakistan: HEC has a dual role—regulator and facilitator. It funds faculty research and grants curricular autonomy. Bangladeshi professors are restrained, not promoted.
Sri Lanka: Similarly bureaucratic, but World Bank-funded reforms made research approvals rational. Bangladeshi universities trail behind.
Malaysia: Professionalized leadership of AKEPT. Their leaders can help their faculty well. UGC prevents Bangladeshi leaders from doing that.
Singapore: Empowering boards make strong leaders. There is actual accountability, and yet innovation occurs. UGC in Bangladesh is the opposite model—control rather than empowerment.
South Korea: Autonomy reforms under autonomy pushed internationalization and world ranking. Bangladesh lags because its leaders are not empowered.
The regional lesson is clear: countries that empower leadership thrive. Countries that cling to bureaucratic micromanaging lag.

A Roadmap for Bangladesh: Governance for Growth

To fully realize the potential of Bangladesh’s private universities, the governance system needs reform to empower leaders and reduce UGC micromanagement. Three pillars emerge:

Leadership Development

Bangladesh should establish a National Leadership Academy of Higher Education, modeled after Malaysia’s AKEPT. The academy must develop vice-chancellors, deans, and chairs systematically with strategic management training, financial leadership, international partnerships, and innovation. International fellowships and mentorship programs must be integrated. But most importantly, universities must be allowed to fund and implement such initiatives without undue delay from UGC.

Autonomy with Accountability

Universities must be freed from UGC’s micro-approvals. Accountability must be outcome-based: graduate employability, publication of research, international collaborations, and rankings. Leaders must be empowered to launch programs, fund research, and forge partnerships—held accountable for outcomes. Boards of trustees must be strategic overseers, not micromanagers.

Regional and Global Collaboration

Bangladesh needs to strengthen collaborations with Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea for leadership fellowships and the exchange of faculty. South-South cooperation with India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka could also create regional leadership development networks. However, as long as UGC continues to block MOUs and delay approvals, these collaborations will remain on paper only.

Conclusion: Strong Leaders, Strong Universities

The evidence is glaring. The Bangladeshi private universities are not failing through lack of vision, imagination, or talent. They are failing because their leaders are not being given the autonomy to lead. The functions of strategy and vision have been outsourced to ceremonial roles, leaving UGC micromanaging forces to direct vice-chancellors, deans, and department heads to focus on chasing approvals rather than building futures.

As one exasperated vice-chancellor could perhaps have put it with such telling force:

“Give us responsibility for results but give us room. Without trust and freedom, we are guardians of paper, not builders of institutions.”

This is the crux of the crisis. Leadership has lost relevance. Faculty are frustrated, students are deprived, and ambitious partnerships collapse under the bureaucracy of UGC. Instead of enabling growth, the regulatory model is turned into a strait-jacket—blocking innovation, damping reforms, and suffocating initiative.

Experience internationally leaves no doubt: great universities are built by great leaders, and great leaders need space to lead. Singapore’s autonomous university boards, Malaysia’s AKEPT Higher Education Leadership Academy, and South Korea’s reforms all show what is possible when leadership is trained, empowered, and trusted. Those nations did not compromise quality by giving universities autonomy—instead, they strengthened it, ensuring that institutions were both globally competitive and nationally responsive.

Bangladesh must now decide whether to proceed along the line of bureaucratic inertia or embrace a model of growth governance. The solution is not to rework UGC at its peripheries. The solution is to establish an independent Higher Education Commission solely dedicated to private universities.

It would:

Empowering leadership by providing universities autonomy to shape curricula, research, and global connections, and making them accountable for quantifiable outcomes.
Foster innovation by minimizing red tape and replacing rigid micromanaging with performance-based evaluation.
Develop leadership capacity through training programmes, fellowships, and international partnerships so that vice-chancellors and deans can function strategically.
Provide equity and excellence by recognizing that private universities, which educate more than half of the nation’s students, require governance structures attuned to their specific needs and abilities.
Without this commission, the private universities of Bangladesh might be trapped in a cycle of mediocrity for all eternity—not because of lack, but because of lack of autonomy. With it, they might be agents of national advancement, global competitiveness, and intellectual ferment.

The choice before Bangladesh is stark but simple: trust and have faith in private university leaders and empower them, or see private institutions wither away. At the same time, the rest of Asia passes by. The need is urgent, the risk high, and the path clear.

Bangladesh needs an autonomous Higher Education Commission for private universities—today, not tomorrow, not someday—but today—if it is to save, support, and unleash the potential of its private higher education industry.

If Bangladesh wants its private universities to be hubs of innovation, then it must re-imagine UGC’s function—from bureaucratic gatekeeper to facilitative partner. If not, universities will remain at a disadvantage, while the rest of Asia waits to pass them by.

Source: https://southasiajournal.net/empowering-leaders-building-institutions-why-bangladesh-needs-to-establish-an-independent-higher-education-commission-for-private-universities-in-bd/

5

Commerce / No Cash, No Corruption

« Last post by Imrul Hasan Tusher on August 23, 2025, 03:05:35 PM »

No Cash, No Corruption

Cash does not leave a trail. It is not about convenience; it is about invisibility

Money lives two parallel lives. For the poor villager, it hides in the folds of a lungi, under a mattress, or in the holy corner of the rice jar, because who needs banks when you have God? Meanwhile, the rich gentleman (read: political or business elite) does not believe in such simplicity. His money takes the first flight out—to Dubai, Singapore, London—anywhere but here. The result? One half of the nation is literally sleeping on cash, while the other half is ensuring that Bangladesh itself remains penniless.

Now let's check the numbers. Only around 35 percent of Bangladeshis have access to financial accounts, compared to 80 percent in India and 95 percent in China. Mobile financial services (MFSs) are booming, but mostly for sending Tk 500 from son in Gazipur to mother in Rangpur, not for replacing mainstream banking. The irony? An economy of nearly $450 billion still runs on crumpled banknotes. Why? Because a massive black economy, worth an estimated 30-40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), thrives on cash. No receipts, no taxes, just vibes.

Our banks love to talk about going digital, even rushing to apply for digital bank licences, but in reality, they still run on apps slower than Dhaka's internet on a rainy day, and branches are drowning in paperwork older than the customers. Then comes the MFS monopoly. One player has done a great job, but when one player holds nearly 80 percent of the market, competition and innovation wither away. True cashless means traceability; every transaction becomes a breadcrumb for the taxman. But would our business tycoons and political elites, fuelled by black money, ever allow their finances to be tracked? That's like asking a cat to wear a GPS collar.

India, despite its chaos, successfully implemented demonetisation in 2016, giving a significant boost to unified payments interface (UPI), which now handles 14 billion transactions monthly. Indonesia has built digital payment ecosystems that extend beyond one or two players, ensuring innovation and consumer choice. Both countries realised early that cashless is not just about apps; it is about accountability, trust, and, yes, political will—something rarer in Dhaka than punctual trains.

Cash does not leave a trail. It is not about convenience; it is about invisibility. I have seen it first hand: wealthy businessmen casually paying restaurant and grocery bills in thick wads of cash, ignoring the ease of cards. One well-known official from a 'prestigious' government body, famous more for corruption than service, never touches a credit card, not even when traveling abroad. Even local corporates prefer to pay salaries partly in cash and partly through accounts, keeping everything nicely hazy. Put all this together, and it feels less like we are moving towards a cashless society and more like we have proudly shifted into a cash-full economy with reverse gear.

Meanwhile, developed nations are moving beyond both cash and cards. Apple Pay, Google Pay, facial recognition—swipe is passé. Yet here, we are proudly tapping a plastic card as if it were cutting-edge. If Bangladesh wants to leapfrog, it needs bold reforms, including interoperable platforms, digital ID integration, tax incentives for digital payments, and, above all, the political courage to face the wrath of the cash kings.

Bangladesh has the ingredients: a young population, mobile penetration, and a booming economy. What we lack is the willingness to kill the golden goose of cash-based corruption. Until then, we will continue to see two Bangladeshis: one storing notes in a lungi, the other laundering them through London. A truly cashless Bangladesh is possible, but it will require our leaders to give up their favourite hobby: hiding wealth as if it were a national sport.

And perhaps that is why conversations around a cashless Bangladesh matter so much. It is not just another policy debate; it is a test of whether we want to move from cash-heavy chaos to cashless clarity. Until then, the joke's on us: our economy may not be cashless, but it is definitely clueless.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/no-cash-no-corruption-3967841

6

Higher Education / Global Competitiveness Begins at Home : Why BD Must Establish a Higher Education

« Last post by Imrul Hasan Tusher on August 21, 2025, 12:47:34 PM »

Global Competitiveness Begins at Home: Why Bangladesh Must Establish a Higher Education Commission for Private Universities

Global competitiveness starts with strong foundations at home. This illustration symbolizes Bangladesh’s urgent need for a Higher Education Commission dedicated to private universities.

“Bangladesh’s private universities can be global players—if the rules allow them to play the global game.”

The Global Stakes of Higher Education

In the 21st century, universities are no longer gauged by the size of their student body or the expanse of their campus. They are gauged by how they propel knowledge, attract global talent, and rank globally. For Bangladesh, where over 100 private universities are the fulcrum of higher education, the question is now imminent: how to propel them to the global stage.

Despite graduating tens of thousands of students every year, private universities are virtually nonexistent in prestigious worldwide rankings such as QS World University Rankings or Times Higher Education (THE). The reasons are structural and systemic, embedded in governance, regulatory obstacles, and the lack of focused policy assistance. But the possibilities are enormous. With strategic governance reforms, Bangladesh’s private universities can become not only national leaders but also global players.

As one of the Vice-Chancellors of a leading private university phrased it: “The potential is here. Our students compete globally, our faculty publish in leading journals, and our alumni are proving themselves worldwide. What we lack is a governance system that allows us to accelerate, innovate, and internationalize.”

This article addresses three pillars of change that would propel Bangladesh’s private universities into the global orbit: international accreditation and program modernization, international faculty and visiting scholar networks, and global research consortia access.

Rapid Program Modernization and International Accreditation

The Need for Ongoing Curriculum Innovation

Curriculum modernization is the cornerstone of academic excellence. But in Bangladesh, the regulatory process of curriculum updating is very slow. Universities must wait for years for the approval of new programs or course changes, while global industries evolve with lightning speed.

One Vice Chancellor of a university referred to this gap: “We proposed a program in climate change and sustainability in line with international demand, but the approval took years. By the time clearance came, the international debate had already moved on. Our students do not have to be the victims of bureaucratic sluggishness.”

These bottlenecks choke innovation. World-class universities update curricula nearly annually to align with market demand, technological advancements, and international norms.

Accreditation as a Path to Global Rankings

International accreditation—by such agencies as AACSB (for business schools), ABET (for engineering), and APHEA (for public health)—is central to obtaining credibility for global rankings. Yet Bangladeshi private universities face high hurdles in attaining and maintaining these standards due to resource constraints and inflexible governance.

Daffodil International University (DIU) has taken bold steps. As Professor M. Lutfar Rahman, immediate past Vice-Chancellor of DIU, explained: “We invested a lot in securing international accreditations since we believe that recognition by the world bodies is a visa to the global arena. Our computing and engineering programs are already ABET-aligned. The dividend is evident—our graduates are being hired abroad, and our international student body is growing.”

Similarly, East West University (EWU) is pursuing AACSB accreditation for its business school. “It is not easy or inexpensive, but it is non-negotiable if we are to compete globally,” said the Dean of Business. “Students now ask: ‘Is my degree globally recognized?’ Accreditation is the answer.”

Policy Support for Program Innovation

What Bangladesh needs is a governance model that frees private universities to innovate without being tied down by red tape that serves no function. A separate Higher Education Commission for private universities can have a catalytic impact by streamlining program approvals, offering incentives for attempts at accreditation, and holding them accountable through standards relevant to their needs, not one-size-fits-all regulation.

Encouraging Visiting Scholar Programs and Recruitment of Foreign Faculty

Academic Mobility Matters

Foreign professors and guest scholars do more than add prestige; they add new pedagogies, collaborative research networks, and cross-cultural understandings that are necessary in the globalized education market of the modern era.

North South University has set the example, receiving visiting professors from North America and Europe regularly. “Our experience is that even short-term stints by international faculty bring life-changing exposure to students,” said one of NSU’s senior professors. “But replication needs to be supported by flexible policies regarding hiring, visas, and compensation.”

Regulatory Challenges in Recruiting Foreign Faculty

Bangladeshi private universities currently face several challenges in hiring foreign faculty. Approval takes time, work permits are cumbersome, and salary caps often make it impossible to hire the best and brightest.

Being one of the leading officials of American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB), in his own words, “We can bring in world-class professors if the government will let us operate with autonomy. We have instructors at AIUB from 15 countries, but each one is a bureaucratic battle. Think how much more we could accomplish if the system rewarded rather than discouraged international hiring.”

Models for Visiting Scholar Programs

Other South Asian countries have models to offer. India’s GIAN (Global Initiative of Academic Networks) program invites hundreds of international faculty members to conduct short-term courses through government support. Malaysia incentivizes universities to attract Nobel laureates and industry leaders through visiting professorships.

Private universities in Bangladesh can also establish these platforms. As another NSU professor pointed out, “Students remember the semester they studied with a visiting professor from Harvard or Melbourne. It opens their minds. This is how you create global graduates.”

Global Research Consortium Access

Research as the Engine of Rankings

Global rankings prioritize research output, citations, and international collaboration. Yet research at Bangladesh’s private universities remains constrained by low funding and restrictive governance.

East West University’s Research Foundation has shown what is possible. “We offered modest grants for faculty-led research, and within two years, publications in Scopus-indexed journals doubled,” quoted by a senior professor at EWU. “But to scale up requires access to global research consortiums and collaborative funding.”

The Case for Research Consortia

Global universities increasingly form consortium-institutional alliances that leverage resources to address global challenges such as climate change, artificial intelligence, and public health. Membership in such networks attracts visibility, grant access, and co-authorship in high-impact journals.

One of the senior administrators of the University of Asia Pacific (UAP) highlighted the following: “Our academics are eager to collaborate, but the current governance structure does not admit international consortium memberships. With the right support, UAP would be a research center of excellence on urban resilience and disaster management.”

DIU’s Global Footprint

DIU offers a success story. Through partnerships with Malaysian, Japanese, and Dutch universities, DIU has become an ICT research leader in the region. “We joined the Erasmus+ consortium, and now our students and professors are publishing articles with their European counterparts,” noted one of the senior administrators. “This is the kind of global integration that every Bangladeshi private university must aim for.”

The Governance Question: Why Specialized Oversight Matters

All three pillars—curriculum modernization, international faculty, and research integration—require governance reforms. Approvals are delayed, policies are outdated, and private universities are second-class citizens under the current University Grants Commission (UGC) compared to public universities.

As Dr. Sabur Khan, Chairperson of Daffodil International University, framed it: “Private universities are educating more than half of the students in the higher education sector in Bangladesh, yet we remain under a governance framework established for public universities. This disconnect is keeping us behind. We need a separate higher education commission for private universities—one that understands our needs and aspirations.”

Comparative Lessons from South Asia

Bangladesh is not alone in its effort to align private higher education with international standards. Across South Asia, countries have experimented with different models of governance and policy regimes, many of which provide valuable lessons for Bangladesh.

India: Specialized Councils and a Focus on Global Integration

India provides the most complicated example of differentiated regulation. Rather than a single regulator for all of higher education, it has established professional councils for various professional disciplines. The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) regulates engineering and technology programs, medical education is regulated by the National Medical Commission (NMC), and legal education is regulated by the Bar Council of India (BCI). This allows professional programs to be controlled by subject-specific regulators rather than generic regulations.

Aside from structural differentiation, India’s National Education Policy (NEP 2020) places a strong emphasis on internationalization and autonomy. It envisions Indian universities as international centers for students, with international university campuses in India, and the movement of students and faculty. NEP 2020 also demands progress towards research-led universities, with the establishment of a National Research Foundation (NRF) that will fund projects in various areas. A few Indian private universities, such as Ashoka University, OP Jindal Global University, and Amity University, have already gained significant global visibility, mainly due to their strategic international collaborations and agile governance.

For Bangladesh, India’s experience illustrates the necessity for discipline-specific councils and policies facilitating private universities to pursue international collaborations without bureaucratic hindrance.

Malaysia: Flexible Accreditation and Government-Supported Internationalization

Malaysia has been prosperous beyond expectations in positioning itself as an education hub in the region, with both private and public universities attracting thousands of international students each year. At the very heart of this success is the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), the accrediting body for institutions of higher learning. Unlike rigid model uniforms, MQA offers flexible pathways specifically for private universities, enabling them to rapidly launch new programs that are aligned with market demands while still maintaining strict quality imperatives.

In addition, Malaysia has pursued an overt internationalization strategy. The government actively promotes Malaysian universities abroad and has encouraged the establishment of foreign university branch campuses, such as Monash University Malaysia and the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Such foreign university branch campuses not only lend prestige to Malaysia but also create collaborative environments in which local private universities can benchmark themselves against international standards.

Malaysia’s policy approach demonstrates that collaboration between the government and private universities, rather than over-regulation, is the key to international competitiveness. Bangladesh may, as in Malaysia, introduce flexible accreditation processes and promote itself as a South Asian education hub, and its private universities may attract sizable numbers of international students.

Pakistan: Incentivizing Research Output

Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC), though not without issues, has been able to implement structured funding models to reward research. Faculty members are rewarded and recognized for publishing in Scopus and Web of Science-indexed journals, and universities are ranked locally based on their research performance. This has led to a consistent increase in research production from Pakistani universities during the last decade.

Pakistan has also made faculty development programs a priority, sending hundreds of scholars for doctoral training overseas on HEC sponsorship. These scholars return with international networks and collaboration potential that benefit their home institutions.

For Bangladesh, Pakistan’s experience underscores the need to tie research funding to quantifiable outputs and offer incentives for international publications. Such a model can significantly enhance transparency in Bangladesh’s visibility in international citation indices and rankings.

Sri Lanka: Quality Assurance Through University Grants Commission

Sri Lanka, being smaller in size, has developed quality assurance mechanisms within its University Grants Commission to evaluate both public and private universities. The Sri Lanka Quality Assurance Council (SLQAC) conducts periodic institutional reviews and subject reviews. Although Sri Lanka also experiences centralization, similar to Bangladesh, it has taken steps towards introducing outcome-based education standards and international benchmarking in accreditation. Private universities such as NSBM Green University have been capable of leveraging these frameworks and becoming competitive players in South Asia.

Bangladesh can learn from Sri Lanka’s attempt to institutionalize quality assurance councils under a national framework—but with greater autonomy for private institutions to innovate.

Nepal: Opening to International Collaboration

Nepal has also achieved incremental progress in internationalization. Its private universities and colleges have developed cooperation with universities in the United Kingdom, Australia, and India for twinning dual degree programs. Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University have also developed research cooperation with foreign institutions in the fields of climate change and Himalayan studies. Although the scale may be smaller in Nepal, its private universities demonstrate the virtues of leveraging international cooperation to gain visibility without waiting for systemic change.

Lessons for Bangladesh

The South Asian region offers a variety of models, but three common lessons are apparent. First, specialist governance, whether through agencies or councils, liberates universities to innovate in their specific fields without becoming entangled in a one-size-fits-all regulatory framework. Second, internationalization efforts, including branch campuses, visiting faculty, and global program partnerships, are central to building global reputations. Third, research incentives—from funding formalities to international collaborations—directly affect rankings and reputations.

Bangladesh can benefit from these lessons by establishing an independent Higher Education Commission for private universities, which would facilitate rapid innovation, accreditation, and global partnerships, rather than exerting control. Taking a leaf from its neighbors, Bangladesh can not only catch up but leapfrog in making private universities world-class.

Toward a Global Vision: Recommendations

To transform Bangladesh’s private universities into global players in the real sense, reforms must not stop at the rhetorical level but must address the structural constraints to growth. Three strategic interventions—policy autonomy, international faculty mobility, and research integration—stand out as key. Each requires thoughtful action, visionary boldness, and an empowerment-based governance framework instead of one of constraint.

Policy Autonomy for Innovation
Provide fast-track approval for new programs.

When fields evolve at such a rapid speed, universities cannot afford to wait years for permission to introduce new programs. International peers tend to revise curricula annually, introducing cutting-edge courses in artificial intelligence, data science, biotechnology, or renewable energy, the moment the need is felt. Bangladesh’s private universities, however, tend to be at the tail end of bureaucratic queues, with program approvals arriving too late to be meaningful. An open evaluation and digital submission-based fast-track approval process would allow institutions to be responsive to the labor market’s needs, getting graduates ready for tomorrow’s jobs, not yesterday’s policy.

Incentivize international accreditation efforts.

International accreditation by the likes of AACSB (business), ABET (engineering), and APHEA (public health) is not a question of prestige—it is a passport to global recognition. Accredited university programs attract international students, make graduates more employable, and gain recognition in rankings. Accreditation is costly, takes time, and requires systemic preparedness. Singaporean and Malaysian governments co-invest together with accreditation processes, which are regarded as national assets. Bangladesh can follow by providing subsidies, tax refunds, or grants to private universities that pursue accreditation, thereby aligning institutional ambitions with national competitiveness.

Establish an exclusive commission for private universities.

Most critical reform is to establish a Higher Education Commission for Private Universities—a separate entity with authority to regulate private institutions independent of the public ones. In contrast to the current University Grants Commission (UGC), established for public universities, this new commission would be tasked with promoting innovation, internationalization, and accountability in the private sector. It may establish performance benchmarks, incentivize excellence, and be a collaborative partner in the establishment of world-class universities. Without it, private universities will remain trapped with a governance structure that consigns them to second-class status.

International Faculty Mobility
Simplify visa and work permit processes.

Global talent is the lifeline of modern universities. Hiring international faculty not only improves the quality of teaching but also strengthens global research collaborations and visibility. However, in Bangladesh, hiring international faculty remains mired in cumbersome visa requirements, unpredictable work permits, and rigid salary caps. Simplifying these—perhaps through a fast-tracked academic visa process—would significantly ease the hiring of world-class professors, researchers, and postdoctoral fellows. Other countries, such as India and Malaysia, have already demonstrated the transformational impact of opening the way for foreign academic appointments. Bangladesh must follow suit if it wishes to internationalize its classrooms.

Provide policy incentives for visiting scholar programs.

Even where permanent appointments are difficult, visiting scholar programs can prove to be a successful avenue for internationalization. Universities that invite professors from leading universities for a semester or summer course automatically enhance their global standing. These exchanges also create opportunities for co-authored research and student exposure to current knowledge. Countries like India, through its Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), and Malaysia, through government-supported visiting professorships, have shown how systematic programs can yield high returns. Bangladesh can initiate the same programs, offering policy incentives and funds to private universities for recruiting visiting scholars regularly.

Create government-university partnership funds for international hiring.

Money is a significant limiting factor in recruiting foreign faculty. To overcome this, a government-university partnership mechanism can be created. Under such a framework, the government co-funds international faculty appointments as investments in national capacity building. These can be invested in priority domains—like artificial intelligence, renewable energy, or public health—where global expertise is urgently needed. By cost-sharing, the universities can afford talent that would otherwise be unaffordable, thereby improving their competitiveness and international integration.

Research Integration and Consortium Membership
Offer competitive research grants to private universities.

Research powers global reputation, yet Bangladesh’s private universities are habitually under-resourced in this area. In contrast to public universities, they are excluded from nearly all government research grants, such that faculty members must depend on limited institutional support. A competitive, merit-based grant system in which public and private universities could compete on equal terms would be an equalizer. This would encourage faculty to conduct high-impact research, publish in foreign journals, and integrate with national development priorities. Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission has successfully employed such a model of funding, resulting in a measurable increase in international publications. Bangladesh could see the same with due investment.

Facilitate membership in international research consortia.

The best research today is rarely developed in isolation. Large, cross-border consortia of universities from different continents tackle climate change, artificial intelligence, pandemics, and sustainable development. Membership in such networks unlocks access to grants, co-authorship, and publication in high-impact journals. Bangladeshi private universities often cannot be part of such platforms due to a lack of facilitation or recognition by the government. Design a framework to enable private universities to join international consortia—such as the EU’s Horizon Europe or ASEAN’s university networks—that would embed them in global research ecosystems and enhance their rankings.

Establish national centers of excellence in private universities in priority themes.

Finally, Bangladesh must recognize that private universities can be national champions in niche research areas. Establishing government-sponsored centers of excellence in private universities on themes such as climate change adaptation, ICT innovation, public health, and the blue economy would not only boost research profiles but also align academia with national development agendas. India and Malaysia have made strategic investments in such centers, leveraging them as magnets to attract international scholars and collaborative grants. For Bangladesh, this could be the bridge between local relevance and global competitiveness.

The path to global competitiveness for Bangladesh’s private universities is clear: policy autonomy, internationalization of faculty, and integration of research. These reforms are not luxuries—they are necessities in a world where education is now a global market and a national security imperative. If Bangladesh acts decisively, its private universities can, within a decade, be credible players in international rankings, contributing not only to national development but to the global knowledge economy as well.

Conclusion: Playing the Global Game

Bangladesh’s private universities have already demonstrated resilience, innovation, and dedication to excellence despite regulatory hurdles. Their graduates are performing across the globe, their faculty are publishing in international journals, and their leadership is advocating for reform.

But the leap from national relevance to international prestige requires systemic change. With specialist governance, international integration, and a research-driven vision, private universities can play the global game—and win.

As one of NSU’s senior professors correctly summarized: “Our universities do not lack talent or ambition. What we lack is the freedom to grow. Give us the right governance model, and within a decade, Bangladesh will have private universities ranked among the top 500 globally.”

The message is straightforward: competitive excellence is within reach, but the rules must be altered to allow Bangladesh’s private universities to become world players.

Source: https://southasiajournal.net/global-competitiveness-begins-at-home-why-bangladesh-must-establish-a-higher-education-commission-for-private-universities/

7

Positive Bangladesh / Eco-Industrial Parks: The Future of Sustainable Manufacturing in Bangladesh

« Last post by Imrul Hasan Tusher on August 21, 2025, 12:34:29 PM »

Eco-Industrial Parks: The Future of Sustainable Manufacturing in Bangladesh

Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs) are an effective approach to industrial development that emphasizes resource efficiency, reduced water usage, and sustainable management of industrial ecosystems. EIP establishes a network of businesses for efficient resource sharing, which results in a circular ecosystem within industrial parks.

In today’s world, this resource efficiency and environmental sustainability offered by EIPs matter significantly, as traditional industrial parks often cause serious environmental harm by polluting water, air, and land, and contributing to climate risks.

With the global investment ecosystem shifting towards strict adherence to ESG concerns and climate responsibility, Bangladesh faces an urgent need to transition toward sustainability to maintain its export competitiveness and attract global green financing.

What is an Eco-Industrial Park?
According to the International Framework for Eco-Industrial Parks, “EIPs can be defined as managed industrial areas that promote cross-industry and community collaboration for common benefits related to economic, social, and environmental  performance.”

In simple words, an EIP is an industrial area where companies share resources in a way meant to reduce waste, maximize resource efficiency, reduce emissions, and raise the well-being in communities where they operate on a financially competitive basis. Key discussions of EIP revolve around –

Why Bangladesh Needs EIPs Now?
1. Consistently Deteriorating Environment: Bangladesh’s industrial sector has been the engine of its economic transformation. It contributed to 34.1% of GDP1 and employed nearly 12.75 million people,2 primarily in export-oriented manufacturing in FY25.

However, this industrialization has been at a very steep environmental cost:

80 percent of Dhaka’s rivers are polluted, most notably by untreated industrial effluents from the tanneries, textile dyeing mills, and chemical production facilities.3
Dhaka has the worst urban air quality in the world, with PM2.5 concentrations regularly exceeding 150 µg/m³, over 15 times the limit set by the World Health Organization 4
Each year, Bangladesh produces roughly 577,000 tons of industrial waste from the textile mills. If other businesses, such as leather, chemical, and food processing, were added to the mix, the industrial solid wastes would exceed 700,000 tons annually. A small fraction of this is treated, processed, or officially recycled.5
This environmental degradation not only threatens ecological sustainability but also undermines economic competitiveness.

2. Mounting Compliance Pressure: One of Bangladesh’s principal export markets, the European Union, is fortifying environmental laws. In the European Green Deal, all imports are required to comply with high environmental and labor compliance standards. Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism from 2026 will impose a carbon price on non-similarly carbon-priced countries’ imports for iron/steel, cement, fertilizers, aluminum, hydrogen, and electricity.

Large brands are already calling on their suppliers for emissions disclosure and proof of climate strategies. Ignoring these demands may yield loss of market access, reduction in orders, or price fines. Considering the European market is increasingly becoming more important as the US market becomes less accessible, Bangladesh must move fast to maintain the compliance the European market requires.

3. Shifting Investor Priority Towards Green Finance: There is a strong global push from donors and development financiers to support sustainable industrial development. The World Bank and IFC both focus on green infrastructure projects.  UNIDO’s GEIPP programme has demonstrated EIPs’ potential in countries like Vietnam and South Africa. ‘

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) have earmarked billions globally for climate-resilient industrial transformation, which can be accessible to Bangladesh with the right institutional mechanisms.6

Existing Industrial Parks in Bangladesh
Overview of Industrial Zones in Bangladesh: Currently, industrial parks fall under three main categories, each managed by a different authority:

Industrial parks in Bangladesh barely have adequate environmental protection. The Dhaka-Narayanganj-Tongi industrial corridor, one of the largest industrial belts in the country, is the source of over 60 percent of the pollution in the rivers Buriganga, Balu, and Turag, the lifelines of the capital city.⁷

Existing and Emerging EIP Initiatives

What Makes a Successful  Eco-Industrial Park?
According to the International Framework for Eco-Industrial Parks, EIP performance is assessed based on four themes – Park Management, Economic Performance, Environmental Performance, and Social Performance.

Global Best Practices in Eco-Industrial Parks
Vietnam: Accelerated Sustainability through Pilot EIPs

Vietnam has emerged as a leader in Asia in integrating sustainability into its industrial policy. With the help of the UNIDO-supported Global Eco-Industrial Parks Programme (GEIPP), Vietnam launched pilot EIPs in the Da Nang, Can Tho, and Ninh Binh provinces.⁸

Key Effects: Innovation in the pilot sites has allowed 72 businesses to save more than 22,000 MWh of electrical power, 600,000 m³ of water, 140 terajoules (TJ) of fossil fuel, nearly 3,600 tonnes of chemicals and wastes, and more than VND76 billion (US$2.99 million) a year.⁹

China: Scaling EIPs with Policy-Driven Precision

China has initiated one of the world’s largest EIP programmes with over 73 officially accredited Eco-Industrial Parks by 2024.¹⁰ Such parks are the pillars behind the country’s overall push towards low-carbon, resource-efficient, and pollution-free industrialization. China set strict parameters for EIPs from the UNIDO guidelines. ‘

The parks are regularly monitored and mandated to report on over 50 parameters, including recycling, utilization of energy, and employee welfare.

Key Outcomes: This resulted in 85% waste being reused, a reduction of energy by 30%, and the parks gaining large green funds, especially in EVs and clean tech.

What Bangladesh Can Do to Accelerate EIP Adaptation
To transition from traditional industrial parks to fully functional EIPs, Bangladesh must undertake a series of systemic changes across multiple dimensions.

1. Develop a National Policy and Legal Framework for EIPs

Bangladesh lacks a common national policy and legislation on Eco-Industrial Parks currently. There are entities like BEZA, BEPZA, and BHTPA that are actively developing industrial estates, but there is no compliance requirement being maintained with internationally recognized EIP principles like the UNIDO–World Bank–GIZ Framework from 2021.

At present, there is no definition by law, and no mandated performance criteria that apply to EIPs. Environmental and economic sustainability will require a national EIP policy aligning with the government’s Climate Action Plan, Industrial Policy, and SDGs.

Adoption of Progressive Practices from Vietnam: Vietnam provides a good example of the incorporation of EIP at the national level. A formal EIP policy was launched by the government of Vietnam through the Ministry of Planning and Investment in 2020 in association with UNIDO.¹¹ The policy integrates environmental and social performance indicators into park design and rewards resource-efficient technology.

2. Address Infrastructure Financing and Long-Term O&M (Operation and Maintenance)

Developing Eco-Industrial Parks in Bangladesh is slowed down due to significant upfront costs for infrastructure like CETPs, solar systems, waste exchange platforms, and green transport corridors. Currently, there is no dedicated financing model for the long-term operation and maintenance of shared EIP facilities.

To address this, Bangladesh needs blended finance mechanisms that combine government investment, concessional climate finance, and private investment. EIP infrastructures should be supported by tools like green bonds, GTF by Bangladesh Bank, and access to international sources such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

Adoption of Progressive Practices from India: India is making significant progress in EIP financing through its Green National Industrial Corridors initiative. Zones like the Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor include dedicated funding for CETPs, solar infrastructure, and waste recovery systems, supported by ADB and the Government of India12.

3. Build Capacity of Park Authorities and Tenant Firms

Lack of technical capacity is a key barrier to EIP adoption in Bangladesh. Most park authorities and tenant firms lack awareness of cleaner production, industrial symbiosis, or ESG standards. To close this gap, Bangladesh should establish a National EIP Training Academy under BEZA, in partnership with Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute, the Department of Environment, and industry groups. Regular training for park staff and incentive-backed programs for tenant firms can build the skills needed for EIP-scale transformation.

Adoption of Progressive Practices from South Africa: South Africa’s Industrial Symbiosis Programme (SIP), run by the National Cleaner Production Centre, trains park managers and companies to identify resource-sharing opportunities and improve efficiency. It has enabled over 1,000 industrial linkages, reduced waste, and cut costs for firms. 13

4. Institutionalize a National EIP Certification System

For building investor confidence and encouraging green industrialization in the country, there is a need for a national EIP certification scheme in consonance with global standards. The same should include clear performance indicators in the environmental, economic, social, and management pillars, along with third-party audit and online reporting.

This certification should be included in the BEZA and BEPZA approval process. Such a mechanism will facilitate standardization of the quality for EIP in addition to enticing green investment and harvesting associated financial potential.

Adoption of Progressive Practices from China & Vietnam: China’s national EIP program has over 50 KPIs and links certification with tax incentives, building park-level accountability. Vietnam’s pilots in the GEIPP program are building national standards linked with industrial policy, showing the importance of such certification through incentivizing performance.

Bangladesh’s industrial future needs to be equally economically sound and environmentally sustainable. Eco-Industrial Parks offer a proven template to achieve this balance by reducing pollution, improving resource efficiency, and attracting international green finance.

EIPs have the potential to transform industrial parks into sustainable growth hubs with the right policy driver, financing instruments, and institutional capacity.  It’s high time the country taps into EIPs as a smart economic strategy towards Bangladesh’s next development trajectory.

Author
Shoumik Shahriar, Project Manager and Senior Business Consultant at LightCastle Partners, authored up this article. For any queries, kindly reach out to info@lightcastlepartners.com.

References
Trading economics
Industries created more jobs amid slowdown. Economists find it puzzling, The Daily Star
How Green Industries Can Reduce River Water Pollution in Dhaka City, UNB
Dhaka tops global air pollution ranking again, Dhaka Tribune
Bangladesh cotton waste worth US$100 million, Recycling International
Green Climate Fund
Buriganga chokes on pollutants, Down to Earth
Eco-Industrial Parks in Vietnam: Implementation and Key Goals
Eco-Industrial Parks in Vietnam: Implementation and Key Goals
China’s eco-industrial parks add great contributions with little pollution, China Daily
GEIPP-VIETNAM Policy milestones 2018-2022
ADB Continues Support for Industrial Corridor Development in India
National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa

Source: https://lightcastlepartners.com/insights/2025/08/how-eco-industrial-parks-can-boost-bangladeshs-green-growth/

8

Nature/Climate/Weather/Disaster / How Can Energy Security and Climate Action Align?

« Last post by Imrul Hasan Tusher on August 21, 2025, 12:20:52 PM »

How Can Energy Security and Climate Action Align?

Bangladesh’s economic transformation has been powered by the growth and development of multiple sectors. Manufacturing, in particular, has played a pivotal role in generating employment and driving export earnings.

Over the last three decades, the economy has shifted from a primary-sector focus to stronger contributions from the secondary and tertiary sectors. This shift has been accompanied by rapid urbanization currently at 41% (World Bank) and projected to reach 50% by 2030.

Looking ahead, Bangladesh’s economy is expected to continue growing at a rapid pace over the next decade, propelled by strong export performance and rising domestic demand. To sustain this growth trajectory, access to stable, sustainable energy sources and long-term strategic investments in the energy ecosystem will be indispensable.

Historically, rural electrification was limited, with only 55% of the population having access to electricity in 2010. Today, that figure stands at 99.4%, and peak demand has reached 16,477 MW. Bangladesh’s installed generation capacity now stands at 31,323 MW (includes both off-grid and on-grid sources), dominated by fossil fuels.

Natural gas contributes the largest share at 39.54% (12,384 MW), followed by coal at 22.92% (7,179 MW) and heavy fuel oil (HFO) at 18.79% (5,885 MW). Other notable sources include electricity imports at 3.7% (1,160 MW), high-speed diesel (HSD) at 0.93% (290 MW), and renewable at just 5.19% (1624.89 MW).

However, Bangladesh’s domestic natural gas reserves are dwindling. With just 8.82 TCF remaining expected to deplete within a decade unless major new reserves are discovered, the government has become increasingly reliant on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal, and HFO.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has exposed the vulnerabilities of this strategy, as sanctions and disruptions in the international LNG market have driven up costs and jeopardized our energy security.

In this context, renewable energy has emerged as a critical supplement to fossil fuel–based generation, particularly given the government’s climate commitments. Bangladesh has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 6.73% unconditionally, and up to 21.85% with international support, by 2030. While Bangladesh accounts for only 0.4% of global emissions, it has demonstrated its resolve to contribute to global climate action.

Yet, renewable energy uptake faces significant hurdles. As a densely populated country, Bangladesh struggles with limited availability and high costs of land for solar parks. Many projects remain stuck in development due to land acquisition challenges. With high upfront costs, innovative financing and land-use models are required to accelerate renewable deployment.

Compounding the challenge, Bangladesh is losing nearly 80,000 hectares of agricultural land annually to urbanization and industrialization. Protecting farmland for food production is essential for food security. One promising solution is agrivoltaics, which utilizes agricultural land for both crop cultivation and solar energy generation.

In such systems, crops suited to partial sunlight (e.g., tomato, potato, cotton, tea, garlic, onion, turmeric) are cultivated beneath elevated solar panels. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), farmer cooperatives, and scalable agri-solar business models can make agrivoltaics both commercially viable and climate-resilient, while supporting food and energy security.

Effective implementation of agrivoltaics in Bangladesh will require close coordination between key ministries, including the Ministry of Land, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources. Such collaboration will be essential to ensure the alignment of land use, agricultural productivity, and renewable energy goals, ultimately safeguarding both food and energy security for the nation.

Financing solar parks will also be crucial. Instruments like green bonds and central bank refinancing schemes can provide partial support, but stronger private sector participation is needed. Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs) offer an innovative model.

These long-term contracts between businesses and renewable energy producers enable companies to lock in stable electricity prices for 10–20 years, while reducing their carbon footprint. Export-oriented apparel manufacturers, especially those catering to EU markets, will increasingly need to adopt renewable energy to comply with tightening sustainability standards. The recent CPPA agreement among PRAN-RFL, H&M, and IFC provides a pioneering example of this model in Bangladesh.

The next decade will be decisive in Bangladesh’s journey toward reducing dependence on fossil fuels. To achieve this, we must adopt innovative models, enact enabling policies, incentivize private sector participation, and mobilize affordable financing. These steps will be vital to facilitating a just and sustainable green energy transition.
 

Sincerely,

Zahedul Amin
Managing Director & Co-founder

Source: https://lightcastlepartners.com/

9

Higher Education / Service to Society, Beyond Bureaucracy: Why BD Needs a Separate Higher Education

« Last post by Imrul Hasan Tusher on August 21, 2025, 12:17:24 PM »

Service to Society, Beyond Bureaucracy: Why Bangladesh Needs a Separate Higher Education Commission to Align Academic Missions with National Development Goals

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/

10

Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / The Best Robotics Shop in Bangladesh for Hobbyists and Professionals

« Last post by Mushahid on August 18, 2025, 10:55:28 PM »

In the rapidly growing tech landscape of Bangladesh, robotics is no longer limited to industrial applications—it’s becoming an essential part of education, research, and hobbyist projects. Among the many players in this sector, Robotics Shop BD (www.roboticsshop.com.bd) stands out as the best robotics shop in Bangladesh, offering a comprehensive platform for buying high-quality robotics components, electronics kits, and online learning resources.

Whether you’re a student, an engineer, or an electronics enthusiast, Robotics Shop BD provides a seamless combination of products, services, and education. Let’s explore why it’s considered the top choice for robotics in Bangladesh.

A One-Stop Online Robotics Store

Robotics Shop BD is renowned for its extensive catalog of robotics and electronics components. From microcontrollers and sensor modules to DIY kits and robotics tools, the shop ensures that all your project requirements are met under one roof.

Key Product Categories:

Arduino Boards and Kits – Popular for both beginners and advanced users.

Raspberry Pi & Accessories – Ideal for AI and IoT-based projects.

Sensors and Modules – Including ultrasonic, temperature, motion, and gas sensors.

Motors and Actuators – Essential for robotic movement and automation.

Power Supplies and Components – Ensuring stable and reliable operations.

DIY Robotics Kits – Line follower robots, obstacle-avoiding cars, robotic arms, and more.

With a wide selection of electronics components in Bangladesh, Robotics Shop BD ensures that customers don’t have to waste time sourcing parts from multiple platforms.

Nationwide Delivery and Fast Service

One of the key reasons Robotics Shop BD is recognized as the best robotics shop in Bangladesh is its efficient nationwide delivery system. No matter where you live in Bangladesh, you can order components and kits with confidence, knowing they will reach you quickly and safely.

First-Class Shipping across all districts

Cash on Delivery Options for convenience

24/7 Customer Support to answer queries and assist with purchases

This commitment to customer service ensures that students, hobbyists, and professionals can focus on building and experimenting rather than worrying about product availability.

Authentic Products with Quality Assurance

When buying electronics and robotics components, authenticity matters. Robotics Shop BD guarantees 100% genuine products sourced from trusted suppliers. This level of assurance is crucial for project reliability, especially in academic and research settings.

Products are tested for quality and performance.

Warranty and replacement services ensure customer satisfaction.

Compatible with global standards, making projects reliable and scalable.

Whether you’re working on a small Arduino project or a complex IoT system, you can trust the components purchased from Robotics Shop BD.

Robotics Academy: Education Meets Innovation

What sets Robotics Shop BD apart from other online shops is its educational initiative—the Robotics Academy. The Academy is dedicated to nurturing STEM skills, offering online courses, hands-on tutorials, and project-based learning.

Key Features of Robotics Academy:

Online Robotics and Programming Courses – Arduino, Raspberry Pi, IoT, Python, and C++ programming.

Practical Projects – Step-by-step guidance for building real-world robotics applications.

Quizzes and Assessments – Test your knowledge and skills.

Certificates – Earn verified certificates to showcase your learning.

Job-Oriented Curriculum – Prepare for internships and technology-based careers.

Through Robotics Academy, Robotics Shop BD bridges the gap between theory and practice, making it a leader in robotics education in Bangladesh.

Why Robotics Shop BD is the Best Choice

There are several reasons why Robotics Shop BD is considered the best robotics shop in Bangladesh:

Comprehensive Product Range – Every robotics and electronics component you need is available in one place.

High-Quality Standards – Products are authentic, tested, and reliable.

Nationwide Accessibility – Customers from Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Khulna, and beyond can access the store easily.

Educational Support – The Robotics Academy provides tutorials, online courses, and certifications.

Customer-Centric Approach – 24/7 support, fast delivery, and flexible payment options enhance the shopping experience.

By combining retail with education, Robotics Shop BD empowers students, professionals, and hobbyists to innovate, learn, and grow.

Ideal for Students and Hobbyists

Bangladesh has seen a surge in interest in STEM education, and robotics is at the forefront. Robotics Shop BD supports students and hobbyists by offering:

Affordable kits and components – Suitable for school, college, and university projects.

Learning resources – Step-by-step guides and tutorials for beginners.

Innovation encouragement – Project competitions, hackathons, and workshops hosted by the Academy.

Students no longer have to struggle to source parts for their projects. From Arduino boards to sensors, everything is accessible, making learning engaging and practical.

Robotics Shop BD in the Tech Community

Robotics Shop BD is not just a store; it is part of the growing robotics community in Bangladesh. The platform actively supports:

STEM education initiatives

University projects and competitions

Workshops and seminars on robotics and AI

Collaborations with schools and colleges

By fostering this community, Robotics Shop BD contributes to the development of skilled engineers and innovators in Bangladesh.

Customer Reviews and Feedback

The store’s reputation is reinforced by positive feedback from its customers:

“I bought Arduino and Raspberry Pi kits from Robotics Shop BD. Everything arrived on time, and the quality is excellent.” – Student, Dhaka

“The Robotics Academy tutorials helped me complete my college project successfully. The support team is amazing.” – Hobbyist, Chittagong

“Nationwide delivery is super fast, and all components are authentic. Highly recommended!” – Teacher, Sylhet

These testimonials highlight why it is the first choice for robotics enthusiasts across Bangladesh.

How to Get Started

Getting started with Robotics Shop BD is simple:

Visit the Website – www.roboticsshop.com.bd

Browse Products – Arduino, Raspberry Pi, IoT kits, sensors, motors, and more.

Enroll in Robotics Academy – Take courses and start building projects.

Order Online – Fast shipping across Bangladesh, with secure payment options.

Start Learning and Innovating – Access tutorials, projects, and guidance from experts.

Conclusion

Robotics Shop BD is the best robotics shop in Bangladesh because it combines high-quality products, nationwide accessibility, and comprehensive educational resources. Whether you’re a beginner eager to explore electronics or a professional working on complex automation projects, Robotics Shop BD has everything you need to succeed.

From Arduino kits to advanced IoT modules, and from tutorials to certifications, Robotics Shop BD empowers Bangladesh’s next generation of innovators and engineers.

For anyone looking to buy robotics parts in Bangladesh, or learn and grow in robotics, there is no better choice than Robotics Shop BD.