In the wake of the dramatic upheaval in the body politic of Bangladesh, there is a spate of activities underway to reform various parts of the country’s political, social and economic infrastructure. Other than members of the interim government, different civil society groups are also busy trying to identify, assess and propose critical reforms. To such ends, the ULAB Center for Enterprise and Society (CES) and Dhaka Tribune organized a civil society dialog to discuss tertiary education in Bangladesh and scope of reform therein.
Held on Sunday, September 1, 2024, at Bengal Blueberry Hotel in Gulshan, this roundtable brought together 20 distinguished speakers from academia, business, development sector, human rights professionals, media and civil society. The discussion was moderated by Sajid Amit, Director, Center for Enterprise and Society.
The discussion yielded brilliant insights on the importance of incorporating personal finance and wealth management into business curricula, as well as local case studies on business ethics; while rendering the curriculum industry-oriented, skills-oriented, and entrepreneurship-friendly. Discussants agreed on the importance of allowing flexibility to universities to design their own curriculum without adhering to the same “templatized” approach across universities; and encouraging more private sector practitioners to teach university courses.
The discussion also focused on rethinking the curriculum and its contents as well as delivery methods to ensure gender equality, representation of minorities, climate resilience and climate justice. It was a widely held-view that although the entire educational spectrum requires a re-think to make institutions more suitable for a modern economy and empower students with skills to find or create jobs, the tertiary or university sector constitutes the final opportunity to address these requirements.
Below, the themes covered in this discussion are outlined as well as notable quotations.
University Administration
“In my opinion, to be a university teacher one must have professional experience, as apart from theoretical knowledge they also need to impart practical skills. ULAB has always ensured a minimum amount of professional experience before allowing faculty members to teach business courses.” Professor Imran Rahman, Vice Chancellor, ULAB
“There is a close relationship between investment and return. Ideally teachers should have the highest of salaries because they are building the future, but this is not the case in reality.” Zeeshan Kingshuk Huq, Managing Director, RTS Enterprise
Personal Financial Literacy
"Personal financial literacy should be taught as a life skill, the same as reading or writing, so that young people are equipped to make sound financial decisions on saving, investments or income taxes. Young people should not be intimidated to step into a bank or go get a tax identification number". Upoma Haq, Wholesale Banking, International Bank.
Business Ethics in a Local Context
“In our country, activities like front running, market manipulation, and insider trading are often seen as clever achievements but are actually unethical or criminal. We need cultural changes deeply ingrained in our ethical values to stop such activities. One way of doing this can be by introducing real life case studies of business scams and scandals of our country.” Md. Nafeez Al Tarik, Managing Director, Dhaka Bank Securities Ltd.
Entrepreneurship & Tech Startups
“Aside from textbook teaching, universities should teach a student to dream big and scale that dream according to their ability, practicality and reality. As dreaming is the first step of achieving something big. Not many young people have the influence or support for dreaming big.” Nabila Nowrin, CEO, Moar Space Ltd.
“Bureaucracy in universities often stands as a barrier to effective inter- university and inter- departmental collaboration, as if each department is an island. Participation beyond one’s own department or university is not encouraged most of the time.” Minhaz Anwar, Chief Storyteller, Betterstories.
Gender Equality & Inclusivity
“On special days like Women’s Day or Indigenous People’s Day there are talks and events, but that is where it starts and ends. I think gender equality and inclusion should be a continuous process in educational institutions.” Tasaffy Hossain, Founder, Bonhishikha
Inclusion of Religious/Ethnic Minorities
“There is a lot that needs to be done when it comes to the representation of indigenous communities in educational textbooks. Culture is not just about songs and dance, it is much more than that, such as preserving our language, living a dignified life and building mutual respect.” Ilira Dewan, Human Rights Activist
“Unfortunately, at the very beginning our education system was not created in a way to accommodate the heterogeneity of our population. The current rupture is the right time to bring forward issues of including minority groups into our educational curriculum.” Abantee Harun, Assistant Professor, ULAB
Climate Change & Youth Activism
“When students know why they are being taught about environmental awareness, they start their professional life with a mindset that they need to create a change.” Rubaiyath Sarwar, Managing Director, Innovision Consulting.
“Educational institutions need a change of strategy to accommodate students from areas facing climate extremities. Students at Khagrachari, Feni and other vulnerable places can’t go to their educational institutions during floods and cyclones.” Farah Kabir, Country Director, ActionAid Bangladesh
Ed-Tech & Digital Learning
“Edtech and digital learning helps reach out to more students, that too beyond tier one cities at a lower cost. When it comes to university education, universities too can introduce online courses that students who do not live in Dhaka can avail.” Shahir Chowdhury, Founder/ CEO, Shikho
Bridging Industry & Academia
“There should be more collaboration between small and medium enterprises and a university’s innovation labs and research labs for improving production of tools or goods, enhancing market access, etc. This form of collaboration can create a bridge between industry and academia.” Muntasir Tahmid, Managing Director, Inspira Advisory and Consulting Ltd.
Employment Generation
“Universities can play a major role in apprenticeship, skills forecasting and job diagnostics. At the same time different sectors must work together collectively as part of the same ecosystem.” - Saif Islam, Senior Program Officer, ILO
Alternative Career Paths
“An alternative career is not just about a course, but it's about creating an environment where someone’s passion is supported which universities must create.” Urfi Ahmed, Brands and Communications Director, Banglalink
“We have worked with a lot of students all over Bangladesh, and from their schools and universities they haven’t learned how to pursue content creation. So we have created a platform for them for networking, sharing ideas and making an impact without the thirst of becoming viral. At universities, we can integrate content creation in the curriculum by allowing students to make video content, podcasts and blogs.” Breity Sabrin Khan, The Marvel- Be You
Research as a Key Skill for Career Success
“While research methodology is crucial, we must consider the entire research ecosystem—accessing information, prioritizing it, communicating effectively, and packaging it for real-world impact.” Dr Haseeb Irfanullah, Visiting Research Fellow, ULAB