UGC moves to allow private universities to offer PhDs

In a significant move 32 years after the establishment of the first private university in Bangladesh, the country’s University Grants Commission (UGC) is mulling over allowing private universities to introduce PhD programmes.

The regulatory body formed a committee on 4 June tasked to formulate a draft policy for launching PhD programmes at private universities.

Private universities have been demanding to be allowed to run PhD programmes for some years. The Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh (APUB), in a meeting in May with Bangladesh’s President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who is also chancellor of all universities, also sought his intervention to allow the introduction of PhDs at private universities.

“We have formed a committee that has been assigned to prepare a draft policy. We will discuss it with relevant stakeholders before finalising it,” Professor Muhammed Alamgir, acting UGC chairman told University World News.

The six-member committee headed by UGC member Professor Bishwajit Chanda will formulate a draft policy, and the curriculum or modules related to PhD coursework or research methodology suitable for different academic disciplines.

Chanda told University World News that internal meetings had begun. “We will sit in official meetings to prepare the draft policy” soon, he added but would not comment further before then.

Some 114 private universities have been set up since the first private university was approved in 1992. According to the UGC, currently, there are 4,120 PhD students at the 56 public universities in the country.

UGC officials have said they did not allow private universities to run PhD programmes in the past as it was not confident they could offer good PhD degrees. Generally, education quality at most private universities is low, it said.

But Alamgir said the UGC has taken this step as many private universities had improved a lot and were interested in offering PhD courses. Alamgir added the UGC will ensure quality is maintained.

Private universities push

APUB chairman Sheikh Kabir Hossain said it was a positive move by the UGC. “We have been demanding for approval of PhD courses at the private universities for the last several years,” he said.

“We have also written letters to the incumbent president and previous president seeking (that they take) steps,” he told University World News. Many private universities around the world are being placed in international rankings beside public universities, and should be given the opportunity to offer PhD programmes, he added.

Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings 2024 placed two Bangladesh private universities — Brac University and North South University — along with two of the country’s public universities, in its latest ranking in the 801-1000 range.

In the letter to President Shahabuddin, APUB pointed out that some top private universities acquired the capability to conduct PhD programmes long ago. APUB argued that being allowed to offer PhDs would create opportunities for research and innovation as well as producing high-quality teachers. At the same time fewer students will have to go abroad to pursue a PhD. It will also attract foreign students, the letter said.

APUB was ready to work jointly on setting the capacity and standards of universities, Hossain added. “We want the authorities to fix some criteria and the universities able to fulfil the criteria should be allowed to offer PhD programmes”, he said.

Quality concerns

However, many educationists are alarmed, saying many private universities would face challenges of quality education and manpower for doctoral programmes, and many private universities do not fund any research. Some pointed to the ‘profiteering’ of many private university operators, despite their nonprofit status.

Former UGC chairman Professor AK Azad Chowdhury told University World News: “There is a question (of whether) all the private universities will be able to maintain quality if they were allowed to offer PhD courses.

“It is unfortunate that the authorities of many private universities are running their institutions with a profiteering attitude. It should be ensured that their PhD programmes do not become a tool for making money.”

Many private universities lack an adequate number of professors for supervising PhDs, with many dependent on part time teachers. Some 14 private universities did not spend any money at all on research in 2022, the UGC’s latest annual report said.

The UGC annual report said there were 12,013 teachers of which 4,495 were part time. There are 859 full time and almost 1,000 part time professors at private universities. At least 20 private universities have less than five fulltime and part time professors.

APUB’s Hossain estimated that currently about 10 universities had the capacity and manpower to run doctoral programmes. He added: “It will help increase quality enhancement as many universities will try to improve their situation in order to be in the list of universities that can offer PhD degrees.”

According to Bangladesh’s Population and Housing Census 2022, there were 25,26,471 persons who have masters and above degrees and 51,704 persons with PhD degrees.