Report shows universities are skimping on research spending

Research and innovation in higher education are a basic and important task for any country seeking to achieve intellectual and economic growth, but most universities in Bangladesh are neglecting the endeavour by skimping on research spending, writes Mir Mohammad Jasim for The Business Post.

Universities are spending a meagre amount of their annual budget for research work, resulting in Bangladesh performing poorly in the Global Knowledge Index 2022. Prepared by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh, the latest annual report shows that the private universities spend nearly three times the funds on research compared to public universities. For research, public universities spent only 2% of their annual expenditure, while private universities spent 7.8%.

The Global Knowledge Index 2023 is also disappointing for Bangladesh, especially in the research, development and innovation sector. According to the report, Bangladesh is a weak performer in terms of its knowledge infrastructure. It ranked 112th out of 133 countries and 21st out of the 25 countries with medium human development.
Full report on The Business Post site