Don’t commercialise education: President

President Md Abdul Hamid has urged those who want to commercialise education, treating it as a commodity, to invest elsewhere.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 20 Nov 2014, 06:26 PM
Updated : 20 Nov 2014, 06:26 PM

Teaching institutions were not commercial institutions and it was highly undesirable for them to become so, said the President at the 9th Convocation of BRAC University at the Army Stadium on Thursday.

“Private universities started cropping up in the country around two decades ago to keep up with the demands of time. Since then, more than 70 private universities have been established,” he said.

“However, whether the private universities, save a few, have been able to achieve the desired quality of education is a matter of debate among the erudite,” he added.

The president was of the view that many universities had failed to become the kind of prestigious institutions they should have been.

The examination system seems to be oriented towards accumulating points, without having any devotion towards imparting real education.

“We need an education system that can create creative and enlightened people instead of having certificate-oriented education or the kind of education that relies on reading out of textbooks,” Hamid said.

He urged all to work together to ensure a high standard of education at the private universities to prepare the young generation as worthy citizens.

He was optimistic about private universities achieving higher standards in education with the help of law and education policies.

The gap in the quality of education in the urban and rural areas should also be minimised.

Initiatives were needed so that students could learn about history, heritage and culture of the nation along with subject-wise education, he added.

The president congratulated the graduating batch and reminded them of their responsibilities towards their nation.