Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in

Tertiary Education: the Case of Bangladesh

Dr. A N M Meshquat Uddin

Objective

• This paper will present an exploration of constructive comparisons between the dynamics of the private and public universities in Bangladesh, with a view to identifying the potential benefits of public-private partnership.

Comparative Overview

The emergence of private universities - tertiary level education has now become more accessible, competitive and innovative

Hurdles initially faced by this sector,

Private universities raising the bar in terms of quality and competitiveness.

Its domino effect on the overall academic mechanism in Bangladesh

Unexplored correlation between the dynamics of the private and public universities.

Potential Areas of PPP

Curriculum Development Exchange of Faculty Extracurricular Facilities Information Systems Joint Research International Linkage

Comparison

Perceptual dichotomy that segregates the private and public university

Public universities hold all the clout in terms of size, power and resource

The progressive and adaptive nature of the private university:– No government subsidies – Persistent pressure of sustaining enrollment numbers– On par with commercial venture that relies on consumer base – Private universities have kept up with the demands of the times

A successful Public-Private Partnership in the tertiary education system could help Bangladesh keep up with the rest of the world

Common Goals

Primary objective to impart, develop and acquire knowledge Common ground for collaborative activities The pooling of data resources for mutual benefit The exchange of ideas and experiences While public universities have powerful resources, the best

talents tend to congregate at private universities

The two sectors stand to strengthen and complement each other in collaborative academic ventures, but on their own, each lacks what the other possesses.

Sharing

The private universities - compact in nature, forego many extra and co-curricular endeavours

Sports facilities, accommodation for students and staff, canteens and open grounds are all taken for granted by the public universities

Private universities tend to have more upgraded libraries, laboratories, and technologically progressive facilities such as in the use of classroom multimedia and the internet.

Public universities invariably have more expansive libraries and laboratories but lag woefully behind in their modernity.

The “Language Barrier”

Persistent failure of public universities in keeping up with the changes in the global academic context.

Texts need translation which wastes time, wastes effort and distorts the meanings in some cases

Public universities enforce Bengali as the sole medium of instruction

Pubic Universities neglect to take appropriate measures to equip their students with the English skills required to comprehend these texts.

Students in all private universities undergo compulsory training in functional English language, during the first year.

A shared academic culture can help in sharing relevant curricular resources and experiences from the private universities to overcome this problem in the public ones.

Common Platform

Common platform to facilitate faculty training, faculty exchange programs, accreditation etc,

public universities can and do afford foreign training for their faculty, most return home only to be lured away by lucrative offers of better-paid jobs in the private universities.

establishment of a systematic accreditation for all tertiary educational institutions.

The difference in the standards of the private and public sector leaves open room for both controversy and errors in interpreting or comparing grades.

students from private universities in Bangladesh can have their credits transferred to foreign universities but not within their own country because no such system exists here.

Common Platform

Immense resources available to public universities - more scope for specialisation within the academic disciplines yet it is the private university that has kept a figure on the pulse of progress in education in the global context.

Innovative graduate and undergraduate programs and specialisations are characteristic of the vibrant and prolific private university culture in Bangladesh.

Development of a mutually acceptable and recognised value system for the programs offered by all of the universities can develop and enhance the overall credibility of the entire education sector in Bangladesh.

mutual recognition and acceptance holds potential for numerous benefits e.g. Credit transfers, student exchange programs and admissions

The development of a common admission platform, like the College Board Common Application for undergraduate college admissions in the United States.

Potential for a common admission test similar to the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which can increase the efficiency of the admission testing process; save time, money and effort, while making life a lot smoother for students of both private and public universities.

Ambitious Joint Endeavours

The sharing of classroom facilities The alleviation of session jams riddling public

universities across the country.

Every hour delayed in graduating the next group of professionals, is an hour lost in taking our nation forward toward economic emancipation.

in the absence of any point of reference, the job market has developed biases regarding the best graduates to take into their employ.

Through collaboration between all universities, students can obtain impartial assessment through a common forum, when applying for jobs or internships.

Common feeling that private university graduates are more pampered and less intellectual sons and daughters of affluent parents, or that they lack the intellectual prowess to enroll in public universities.

Our society already suffers from numerous economic, social, political and geographic biases; the private/public university divide stands to fabricate yet another reason to compromise our national unity.

Harness the rivalry between their institutions for healthy competition in sports and other student activities, such as commonly seen in developed countries.

The Dynamics of a University

The entrepreneurial dimension of universities in our country: all universities need financing all universities need resources all universities produce dividends akin to a business enterprise

The implications: institutional recognition of the stakeholders realistic and strategic approach

Creating an efficient industry to produce the next generation of efficient, competitive and dynamic graduates, who will succeed in placing Bangladesh on the track to socio-economic emancipation, growth and development.

a bold step to unify and share resources for the betterment of our nation as a whole.

the international community to

gain from the production of skilled migrant professionals from Bangladesh.

THE END

Thank you.