Sir Fazle Hasan Abed KCMG on Sunday (11 March 2018) urged giving special attention to higher education through incorporating inclusive equitable learning and ICT to achieve a double digit growth and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Bangladesh failed to invest in education, giving it one of the lowest budgetary allocations, while initiatives have been insufficient when it came to quality enhancement, said the founder and chairperson of BRAC.
He was giving a keynote speech on an “Assembly on Higher Education in Bangladesh” at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of the University of Dhaka.
The event was organised by the Department of International Relations and the Department of History of the University of Dhaka in association with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Bangladesh.
Sir Fazle Hasan Abed emphasised on developing better students for universities nurtured by knowledgeable teachers, who in effect have to be role models.
He suggested opening professional faculty development centres, online courses and a national teaching service core, saying education should incorporate ethics and values while educational institutions practice greater accountability and autonomy.
There should be student loan schemes available through tripartite agreements of banks, educational institutions and students while international organisations should provide concessional loans for developing the education sector, he said.
Funding should increase for research and development units which partner with private entities and research on national critical concerns, said Sir Fazle Hasan Abed.
He points to a call of five eminent educationalists right before the national education policy was announced in April 2010, saying political organisations should duly take heed to sever ties of students with politics.
Lauding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s plans for building private and public universities in every district, he asked for reviewing the private university act.
A lot of time has elapsed since Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave his historic 7 March speech in 1971 that sparked the Liberation War and the struggle to ensure quality education continues, he said.
Professor Imtiaz Ahmed of the Department of International Relations gave the welcome address. FES Bangladesh Resident Representative Franziska Korn and German Ambassador to Bangladesh Dr Thomas Prinz also presented their remarks at the event.