Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid has rued the state of education at the Dhaka University, popularly called the “Oxford of the East”.
“It is the largest and oldest university in Bangladesh. But over the last 50 years, I have only heard that the education quality has declined,” he told the Parliament yesterday replying to a question by Opposition Leader Rawshan Ershad.
He noted how every year, after the results were published, it was said that the passing rate had increased while the quality fell. “The claim is not true,” he said. “Our quality has improved but it falls short of the expected standard. We should improve our quality further.”
Rawshan had asked why the Dhaka University was not among the top 100 universities of the world.
The education minister said a popular saying billed the Dhaka University as the Oxford of this region. “We have become used to the saying that Dhaka University is the Oxford of the East,” he said.
Nahid reasoned that quality education could not be ensured overnight. “I am saying again that we could not reach the standard expected from us but our quality is improving.”
