We should no doubt be proud that six Bangladeshi universities have made it to the list of the Best Asian universities in the latest edition of the QS Asia University Rankings.
This is the highest number of universities to have made it to the list in the nation’s history, and we congratulate these institutions, and the government for allowing the space for public and private universities alike to shine in the field of higher education.
This bit of news comes on the heels of controversy surrounding the Times Higher Education magazine rankings which did not include any university from Bangladesh; some said this was a result of the different criteria favoured and the methods used, and that the rankings were compiled based on university websites which provide a rather limited perspective.
As such, it is crucial for the education system to look a bit deeper when it comes to such issues with the understanding that, when it comes to the quality of higher education, the issue is not always as simple as how high a university is ranked.
While one ranking may favour reputation and the other may value research, we must not forget that our primary goal should be to provide the best higher education possible to our young people, one that will prepare them for an ever-changing and competitive world.
Our nation has come a long way in many areas, but we are still trying to iron out numerous issues which plague us, from poverty to food security to climate change.
Within this context, what we must do now is not focus solely on how high we are ranked on which system, but figure out the specific issues we have, address them, and pool our resources so that we may provide a quality university education that prepares our youth for the 21st century.
