Private universities have beaten their public counterparts in enrolment of international students in a dramatic turn of events over the last couple of years, according to a report by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
28 out of the 71 private universities in the country now have students from foreign countries, the report said.
The number of international students in private universities is estimated at 1651, compared to just 210 students in public universities. This is a dramatic increase given that private-sector higher education only began a little over two decades ago, in 1992.
While the private sector grew from strength to strength in terms of foreign student enrolment, the public sector went in the opposite direction. Private universities had 1199 students in 2009 while their public universities had 390.
Experts say the popularity of state-sponsored institutions fell due to various factors, including session jams, student politics, often-obsolete curricula, inadequate learning facilities and negative word-of-mouth.
On the other hand, private institutions have focused on coming up with market-oriented strategies, more practical courses, state-of-the-art campuses and advanced learning tools.
Rudra Pratap Adhikary, a Nepalese student at Ibrahim Medical College, said a lack of updated information on the websites of some public universities – both general and specialised – is the main reason behind the declining interest in them.
“Many of my friends said that they didn’t get adequate information about admission on these websites,” he said.
He also said session jams and the disruptive activities of the student wings of political parties in the public universities also work as “deterrents” for admission-seeking students.
At Dhaka University, there is an international hall for international students, Sir P.J. Hartog International Hall.
There are currently approximately 140 students living in the dormitory, but this number is likely to decrease if the university fails to take steps to improve its image internationally and provide wider access to admission-related information.
The majority of international students studying in public universities are Nepalese and enrolled in medical courses.
Lutfor Rahman, the provost of Sir P.J. Hartog International Hall, said “bureaucratic complexities” faced by international students may be the reason behind the growing disinterest in public universities.
“It is not always easy for these students to get admission in public universities,” he said.
However, AAMS Arefin Siddique, vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, the oldest public university in the country, said decline in enrolments has nothing to do with the quality of education.
“The number of foreign students can decrease for many reasons,” he said, declining to elaborate on the matter.
