Home ›› 18 Jul 2022 ›› Front
Research – a key benchmark for measuring the standard of tertiary education – is hardly a priority for most of Bangladesh’s universities, as the public ones allocate only 1.49 per cent of annual expenditure for research, while the figure is 3.30 per cent in private institutions.
According to the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) 2020 annual report on 150 universities, 38 public institutions spent Tk 73 crore on research, while 77 private ones spent Tk 111 crore. Moreover, 35 universities did not spend a single paisa on research that year.
In 2020, 38 public universities posted a total annual expenditure of Tk 4,896 crore, while the figure was Tk 3,361 crore for 77 private universities.
Educationists recommend spending at least 10 per cent of a university’s total expenditure on research to ensure higher quality education. But the above mentioned figures indicate that carrying out research is the one of least focused segments in the country’s universities.
Speaking to The Business Post, a number of academicians say every university must engage in three types of activities – creation of knowledge, storage of knowledge, dissemination of knowledge, but Bangladesh’s universities are ignoring these crucial matters.
They said no tertiary education can be complete without research, as the creation of new knowledge requires fact-finding analysis.
‘Allocation very low, insufficient’
Dhaka University’s former vice-chancellor Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique said, “Creation of new knowledge and dissemination of knowledge are the key tasks of the universities. These activities must be carried out simultaneously.
“The annual allocation for research is very low and insufficient compared to the infrastructural or other allocations of these universities. The researchers cannot carry out quality research with such poor funding.”
He continued, “Spending 1 per cent or 2 per cent on research is not enough for quality research. Some universities did not even spend such a poor amount on research.
“University authorities must concentrate on quality research along with structural development. These matters should be on top of the tertiary educational institutions’ list.”
Top 5 public universities
Dhaka University’s total expenditure was Tk 778 crore in 2020, but it spent only Tk 6.61 crore, or 0.83 per cent of the total expenditure, on research. The institution spent the highest amount on research among the public universities during that period.
Bangladesh Agricultural University’s expenditure was Tk 306.10 crore in 2020, while it spent Tk 6.19 crore or 2 per cent of the total expenditure on research.
Rajshahi University’s annual expenditure was Tk 453.88 crore, while its research spending was Tk 4.40 crore, which is 0.96 per cent of the total outlay.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University’s expenditure was Tk 67.30 crore in 2020, while it spent Tk 4.77 crore or 7 per cent of total outlay on research.
The Shahjalal University of Science and Technology’s total expenditure was Tk 145.73 crore that same year, while the university spent Tk 4 crore or 2.74 per cent of total expenditure on research.
Top 5 private universities
Brac University’s total expenditure was Tk 335 crore in 2020, while it spent Tk 55 crore or 16.41 per cent on research in 2020. The research expenditure of the university is the highest among all such institutions in Bangladesh.
Brac University alone spent Tk 55 crore, where the top five research expenditure of public universities was only Tk 25.97 crore.
Daffodil International University spent Tk 187.43 crore during the period, but it spent Tk 12.16 crore on research, which is 6.48 per cent of the total outlay.
American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) spent Tk 239 crore, and Tk 9.30 crore on research, which is 3.89 per cent of its total expenditure.
The University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) spent Tk 70.33 crore to cover its operational expenses in 2020, and of the amount, Tk8.37 crore or 12 per cent was spent on research.
North South University’s (NSU) total expenditure was Tk 335.33 crore, but it spent Tk 6.17 crore on research, which is 1.83 per cent of the total outlay that year.
No research at 35 universities
Eight public universities – including Sheikh Hasina University, Khulna Agriculture University and Rabindra University, Bangladesh – did not spend any money on research in 2020.
Besides, 27 private universities, such as The People’s University, Prime Asia University, Central Women’s University, Global University Bangladesh, Britannia University and Bangladesh Islami University, did not spend a single paisa on research that year.
Commenting on the issue, UGC member Prof Abu Taher said, “The UGC is emphasising research and innovation at the universities and is gradually increasing the allocation for research.
“The commission approved Tk 150 crore for research support in FY22, which is an increase of Tk 32 crore, compared to the last FY. We are increasing the budget for research to ensure quality higher education and set up a culture of research at these institutions.”
Though the UGC report is based on 150 public and private universities, Bangladesh now has 158 such institutions.
