While speaking to a six-member delegation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) President Mohammed Shahabuddin asked the delegation members to take extra initiatives to promote research activities at universities. The President, also the University Chancellor, directed the UGC to play an effective role in expanding higher education across the country.
Unfortunately, no university in our country neither public nor private has - found any place at the top level of Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University ranking since long. In our country, Dhaka University (DU), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) and other prestigious universities are also failing to make any progress in the QS ranking.
DU and Buet have been ranked in 801-1000 bracket and their positions have remained unchanged over the last five years. Following are the criteria on which the QS ranks universities: academic reputation, employer reputation, faculty student ratio, citations per faculty, international faculty ratio, international students ratio, international research network and employment outcomes.
In this context, our teachers and students of universities must pay more attention to conducting researches in order to build skilled human resources for the country. Bangladesh has made many infrastructural developments over the years and the country will attain more progress in future.
However, we think a country cannot go ahead without scientific research works. We must conduct more research because we are still far behind in, matters of basic research.
No university in our country,
neither public nor private, has - found
any place at the top level
of QS World University ranking since long
Therefore, higher educational institutions like public and private universities and other research based organisations in our country will have to play a key role in building skilled human resources to keep pace with the modern world.
As research is a main tool of economic and technological development of a country, there is no alternative to it. We have noticed that lack of support for research and a dearth of quality publications are the main reasons for Bangladeshi universities to lag behind in most of the world rankings.
When we see our universities failing to obtain any place at the top level of QS World University ranking we feel depressed. Bangladesh is now a developing country and the government is committed to making Bangladesh one of the developed countries by 2041.
Therefore, if we want to take the country forward by continuing the trend of development, we have to create new knowledge through quality education and research. To meet this goal, the government will have to increase significantly the budget of the country’s public and private universities for research activities as we are not in a very good position in terms of research.
In this regard, we think a master plan will have to be prepared for education, research and infrastructural development of the university. Our higher educational institutions and research based organisations will have to be able to contend with the advancing world in the field of education and create and expand opportunities for research and modern knowledge at the national level.
Therefore, academics, researchers, economists, technologists, policymakers and faculties will have to conduct more basic and applied researches and foster innovation in the light of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Success would come if everyone carries out his or her respective responsibility properly in this regard. Besides, young people and university students must have a bent of mind for modern knowledge to be educated in the real sense.
They should come up with innovative ideas and conduct fundamental and applied research to contribute to the development of the nation.
Therefore, the researchers will find out the most potential sectors for research keeping the country’s climate, soil and water in mind to expedite its development. In this regard, country’s prestigious university like Dhaka will have to play the leading role to elevate the country’s quality of education to the highest level.
In terms of ensuring quality of education and research more investment is required as we are yet to meet our expected level in global ranking.
