BANGLADESH
SABER Country Report
TERTIARY EDUCATION 2017
Policy Dimensions Status
1. Vision for Tertiary Education
There is no overall vision for tertiary education in Bangladesh. For the
TVET sector, there is an established vision, while strategies for the
universities and colleges are under development.
2. Regulatory Framework
There is extensive legislation that covers public and private providers, and
includes key guiding principles. Aspects of the legislation are somewhat
outdated, and should be revised.
3. Governance of System and Institutions
The governance system for universities is well articulated. Universities
have substantial autonomy, although colleges and TVET institutions have
low levels of autonomy. The politicization of tertiary education institutions is
a key risk for the sector.
4. Financing
Public resources cover recurrent and some capital expenditure. Funding
mostly follows historic patterns and it is not linked to performance
indicators. Existing scholarship programs for disadvantaged students could
be extended.
5. Quality Assurance
Initial steps towards establishing quality assurance cells have been taken in
universities. The Parliament has recently passed an Accreditation Council
Act. Quality assurance is lacking in the college sector. While data on the
system exists (HEMIS), it does not cover all tertiary education institutions,
and it is not clear whether this data is used for policy purposes.
6. Relevance to Social and Economic Needs
Although there are documented concerns about the relevance of tertiary
education, there is substantial policy to strengthen economic development,
to foster research, development and innovation and to strengthen
environmental protection through tertiary education.
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BANGLADESH ۣ TERTIARY EDUCATION SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2017
Introduction
SABER-Tertiary Education is a diagnostic tool to assess how education systems perform and to identify
priorities for reforms at the national level. It is part of the World Bank’s Systems Approach for Better
Education Results (SABER), which aims to benchmark education systems at the country level.
SABER-TE focuses on six dimensions of tertiary education policy
(see Box). The general idea is that a strong policy environment is a Six policy dimensions of successful
tertiary education systems (World
prerequisite to better-performing tertiary education institutions,
Bank 2016):
including universities, colleges, and technical and vocational
institutes. The diagnostic tool aims to help countries assess best 1. A strong vision for tertiary
practices, and to diagnose which policies need urgent attention. education
For some policy areas, countries are scored on specific “policy 2. A clear regulatory framework
3. Modern governance and
levers” to help make concrete recommendations for
university autonomy
improvement. 4. Financing that promotes
performance and equity
Each of the six policy dimensions can contribute to the outcomes 5. Independent quality assurance
of tertiary education systems, although they work together in a 6. Relevance to the country’s
holistic way. By matter of illustration, a vision without an effective social and economic needs
governance structure is just a collection of ideas that will not be
implemented; a well-designed governance structure without a
vision is a meaningless bureaucracy.
The World Bank has identified best practices in each of these dimensions in a review of the world’s most
effective tertiary education systems (World Bank 2016). The best practice indicators used for scoring are
made available in the appendix of this report. Countries are scored and then benchmarked on these policy
dimensions with four different scores:
1. Latent: this topic has received too little attention;
2. Emerging: there are some instances of good practice;
3. Established: there is systemic good practice; and
4. Advanced: the country follows international best practice and is an example for others.
SABER uses an extensive questionnaire to collect data on the policy environment for tertiary education.
The questionnaire is populated through an analysis of the most recent versions of relevant legislation,
policy documents and reports on the sector. The SABER team also carried out fieldwork in Bangladesh
between March 4 and 17, 2017 with visits to several universities, government agencies, and other
stakeholders. After data collection is complete, the policy dimensions are scored on a rubric (see Appendix
1 for a full overview of the rubric). Both the answers to the questionnaire and the rubric scores are
available from the SABER website (http://saber.worldbank.org).
This report proceeds as follows. First, we describe the context of the tertiary education system in
Bangladesh. We then proceed with scoring the six policy dimensions with descriptions followed by a
conclusion with a few general observations about tertiary education in Bangladesh.
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Context
Bangladesh faces an optimistic scenario in terms of social and economic development. It is one of the
world’s most populous countries with an estimated 160 million people. The country has the tenth highest
population density in the world, with 1,237 individuals per square kilometer of land area (World Bank
2015a). With a per capita income of US$1,409 in 2016, it is well above the threshold for lower-middle-
income countries. In recent years, driven by manufacturing and services, its GDP rose by 6.5 percent on
average since 2010, with an officially reported growth rate of 7.05 percent in the 2016 fiscal year. Progress
has continued to be made in reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity through human
development and employment generation. Poverty incidence 1 declined from 44.2 percent in 1991 to 18.5
percent in 2010 (latest available poverty data) and is projected to have further declined to 14.9 percent
in 2016. Bangladesh’s performance against the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) is impressive
compared with that of other countries in the South Asia Region on most indicators.
In this context of growth, it is no surprise that Bangladesh’s tertiary education system is growing quickly
and is already vast (see Table 1). The total number of students in tertiary education reached 2.84 million
in 2015, up from 1.60 million in 2010 (BANBEIS 2016). At current rates, the share of the youth population
with a tertiary education degree is projected to rise from 11 percent in 2010 to 20 percent by 2035. 2 This
is reflected in the growth of tertiary education institutions. Between 2010 and 2015, the number of
tertiary education institutions grew by over 60 percent from 1,748 to 2,893. This growth was mostly in
the private sector, which increased from 1,478 institutions to 2,417 institutions (by 2015). Public tertiary
education institutions grew at a smaller rate of 23% from 306 to 376 institutions in 2015.
Table 1: Number of Institutions and Students by Subsector, 2015
Public institutions Private institutions Total institutions Students (millions)
Universities 37 85 122 0.87
Colleges 265 1,494 1,759 1.7
TVET institutions 74 938 1,012 0.27
Total 376 2,417 2893 2.84
Source: BANBEIS 2016, BANBEIS 2011
As shown in Table 1, the tertiary education system in Bangladesh is comprised of three distinct subsectors:
(1) the university subsector, (2) the college subsector, and (3) the technical and vocational education and
training (TVET) subsector. Each of these can be further subdivided into a public and a private. Each
subsector is governed by different rules and regulatory bodies and faces different challenges on the key
dimensions of governance.
The university subsector consists of teaching and research universities that offer undergraduate,
graduate, and doctoral degrees. Public universities can be either research or teaching oriented, whereas
private universities are typically teaching oriented. The sector accounts for 872,891 students studying at
over 37 public and 85 private universities (BANBEIS 2016). Each public university is governed by a charter,
which must be approved by Parliament. Private universities, on the other hand, are governed by the
Private Universities Act, which was passed in 2010. As a whole, the university subsector is regulated
primarily by the University Grants Commission (UGC), which oversees their financing, governance, and
quality assurance arrangements.
1
Based on the international poverty line of $1.90 per capita per day. Poverty is measured on the basis of the Purchasing Power Parity exchange
rate.
2
Figures from the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography, http://www.wittgensteincentre.org/en/index.htm.
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The college subsector consists of teaching-oriented colleges that offer pass degrees, honors degrees, and
Masters degrees. This is by far the largest subsector, comprising 3.1 million students studying at 1,494
private colleges and 265 public colleges (as of 2015). Most colleges are affiliated with the National
University, which was founded in 1992 to oversee the growing college subsector.
The TVET subsector consists of polytechnics and other TVET institutions that offer four-year diplomas at
the post-secondary level. There are roughly 0.5 million students in the subsector studying at over 938
private and 74 public TVET institutions. The public TVET institutions are governed by the Directorate for
Technical Education (DTE), which is part of the Ministry of Education. The curriculum and academic
standards are governed by the Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), a regulatory body with some
independence from the ministry. Moreover, the government has recently created a National Skills
Development Council (NSDC), which is overseeing the Industry Skills Councils and industry associations;
and coordinating with the broader TVET sector.
It is a challenge for policy-makers to manage such a vast tertiary education sector with many different
interests. This is especially the case because the governance of these institutions is somewhat politicized
(Monem & Baniamin 2010). For instance, there is evidence that political criteria play a role in the hiring
and promotion of academic staff (UGC forthcoming; Transparency International Bangladesh 2016), with
significant negative effects on the quality of education (Panday & Jamil 2009).
These differences also posed a practical challenge to the SABER diagnostic tool, as tertiary education is
normally analyzed for the tertiary education system as a whole. This is not feasible in this case, because
of the differences between universities, colleges and TVET institutes. Wherever possible, this report will
try to allude to the different challenges faced by the various subsectors of the tertiary education system
in Bangladesh. The only exception is policy dimension 6 (relevance), for which we have used just one
overall scoring system as policies do not differ among subsectors.
The rest of this report will discuss the scores for each policy dimension in detail, starting with the vision
for tertiary education.
Policy Dimension 1: Vision for Tertiary Education
Overall score: Emerging zz||
Universities Emerging zz||
Colleges Latent z|||
TVET Institutions Advanced zzzz
For SABER-TE, the main question to be answered as part of this dimension is whether the country in
question has a vision for the tertiary education sector and whether policy-makers are willing to translate
its vision into a concrete action plan. The SABER-TE instrument assesses these issues using two distinct
best practice indicators, one that evaluates the existence of a recent vision or strategy for tertiary
education and another that evaluates to what extent key stakeholders were involved and whether it is
based on an analysis of key social and economic trends. Within this policy dimension, we analyze the three
tertiary education subsectors within Bangladesh separately. The overall score of the Vision for Tertiary
Education in Bangladesh is Emerging. The country’s vision for universities is being developed, and the
work on a vision for the college system is just starting under the College Education Development Project.
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For TVET, a comprehensive vision document is in place. Bangladesh does not have an overall vision for
the tertiary education system.
Universities
Emerging zz||
Bangladesh has a long tradition of adopting national strategy documents pertaining to the university
subsector. Its most recent such document is the Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2017-
2030. This document includes the most up-to-date vision for the university subsector in Bangladesh: “To
achieve excellence in higher education comparable to global standards; to establish equity and guarantee
access to higher education by anyone qualified to pursue it, and to prepare the learners as ideal citizens”
(UGC forthcoming, p. 36).
This vision is not included in the national legislation governing tertiary education. However, the Strategic
Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2017-2030 includes policy and program suggestions pertaining
to the three key missions of higher education: (1) teaching, (2) research, and (3) service. It also mentions
the importance of enhancing the quality of teaching by increasing the number of faculty members holding
PhDs (UGC forthcoming, p. 80). The document proposes the creation of a National Research Council,
which would be responsible for planning national research priorities, coordinating activities between
different partners and funding sources, increasing the research capacity of the country, and awarding
competitive research grants (UGC forthcoming, p. 83). The government has prepared a draft of a new
education law, which is scheduled to be enacted in the near future.
The social mission of higher education is not excluded from the country’s national strategy documents.
The Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2006-2026 stipulated that “higher education
should ensure social mobility, increased living standards, and internal and international harmony and
peace, based on human rights and the principles of democracy” (UGC 2006, p. 13). Similarly, its successor,
the Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2017-2030, mentions the importance of using
higher education to meet the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, to provide equitable
education, and ensure gender parity (UGC forthcoming, p. 37).
The Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2017-2030 encompasses both public and private
institutions. The document also highlights the roles and functions played by the University Grants
Commission (UGC)—the leading regulatory body for higher education in the country. The strategy
document states that the role of the UGC is to improve the governance of the higher education sector. It
also advocates the adoption of performance-based funding and the diversification of funding sources as
well as the creation of a student loan program to increase equity (UGC forthcoming, pp. 74-79). The plan
stipulates actions to enhance the quality assurance framework in the country and to facilitate the
involvement of external stakeholders in the governance structures of the universities (UGC forthcoming,
pp. 32-33). Lastly, the document views higher education as an instrument to achieve socioeconomic
development (UGC forthcoming, pp. 43-44). Representatives of key stakeholders were involved in drafting
the strategic plans (UGC forthcoming, p. 29).
Colleges
Latent z|||
The vision for universities set out in the Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2017-2030 also
covers the National University. At present, this Strategic Plan does not include any references to colleges.
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Instead, the College Education Development Project aims to develop a separate strategic plan for the
college subsector (World Bank 2016b). A strategy planning committee will be created under the Ministry
of Education to oversee the process. The vision will be broken down into six areas: namely, (1) vision, size
and scope (2) access and equity, (3) quality and relevance, (4) management of the college system, (5)
science, technology, and ICT, and (6) financing of college education. Once finalized, the strategy should
be implemented over the next fifteen years.
TVET Institutions
Advanced zzzz
The recent National Skills Development Policy (NSDP) published by the NSDC sets out the wider vision for
the TVET sector in the coming years (NSDC, 2011a). The NSDP argues that the TVET sector is diverse, with
inconsistent quality standards. It proposes the creation of a National Technical and Vocational
Qualifications Framework (NTVQF) to regulate qualification levels. It also suggests that qualifications
should be based on competency profiles, defined in collaboration with industry. Moreover, it proposes a
quality assurance system for skills in the country. Following the adoption of the NSDP, a detailed action
plan has been agreed to implement the vision (NSDC, 2011b).
The Seventh Five-Year Plan FY2016-FY2020. Accelerating Growth, Empowering Citizens (GEDPC 2015) also
includes a strategy for skills development in Bangladesh pertaining to the TVET subsector that is shared
and supported by the government, industrial workers, and civil society. The document states: “Skills
development in Bangladesh will be recognized and supported by the government and industry as a
coordinated and well-planned strategy for national and enterprise development. The reformed skills
development system will empower all individuals to access decent employment and ensure Bangladesh’s
competitiveness in the global market through improved skills, knowledge, and qualifications that are
recognized for quality across the globe.” (GEDPC 2015, p. 604).
The vision for TVET has similar levels of detail and specificity as the vision for the universities and college
including references to quality assurance processes, funding, lifelong learning, and teaching. The vision is
also accompanied by explicit links to social trends such as employability and gender disparity (GEDPC, pp.
604-609).
Policy Dimension 2: Regulatory Framework
Overall score: Established zzz|
Universities Advanced zzzz
Colleges Established zzz|
TVET Institutions Established zzz|
SABER-TE attempts to measure whether the tertiary education system is based on an appropriate
regulatory framework that supports the work of tertiary education providers to the benefit of students
and the public. This policy dimension includes questions like what types of higher education provision are
supported, the extent to which buffer bodies are used, and the extent to which regulation explicitly
mentions key principles. The overall score for Regulatory Framework in Bangladesh is Established.
There is a substantial body of legislation and lower level regulation that applies to tertiary education in
Bangladesh. The following list provides the most important pieces of legislation:
- The University Grants Commission of Bangladesh Order 1973, amended in 1978
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- The Private Universities Act No. 35 of 2010
- The Accreditation Council Act, of 2017
- The National University Act of 1992, which governs the National University and TEIs affiliated with
the National University.
- Other individual University Acts, which provide the legal basis to function as a university in
Bangladesh.
- The Technical Education Act of 1967, which established the Bangladesh Technical Education Board
(BTEB), the body that oversees technical and vocational education in Bangladesh.
The provision of distance and online education in Bangladesh is subject to the general regulatory system
for tertiary education. The Bangladesh Open University is the only tertiary online education providers in
the country. The university is regulated by the Open University Act of 1992 (GoB 1992b).
While there is a significant amount of legislation, Bangladesh does not have one comprehensive law for
its tertiary education sector, not even a single umbrella legislation for all public universities and the need
for such a law is mentioned in the Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh 2006-2026 (UGC
2006, p. 22). Some of the legislative acts governing tertiary education were enacted more than 10 years
ago.
There are some inconsistencies among the key principles for universities, colleges, and TVET institutions
included in the regulatory framework. This is partly because the laws governing the three subsectors vary
in terms of breadth and levels of detail. For example, there are multiple strategic plans for the university
subsector that include guiding principles such as equity, quality, accountability, transparency, and
autonomy (UGC forthcoming, p.27). For the TVET subsector, the National Skills Development Policy
stipulates that the Bangladesh Technical Education Board will “create and support an Equity Advisory
Committee to monitor and address issues related to under-represented and disadvantaged groups”
(Ministry of Education 2011). The policy references multiple key principles, including the need for quality
assurance, and the need to preserve the autonomy of institutions. The regulatory framework for colleges
is much less extensive and contains fewer references to key regulatory principles. However, the 1992
National University Law refers to the need to improve the quality of instruction (GoB 1992a).
Universities
Advanced zzzz
The first question to ask is whether the regulatory framework covers the establishment, market entry and
operation of both public and private providers. Indeed, the regulatory regime in Bangladesh includes
provisions that regulate and monitor the establishment and market entry of new public universities. The
1973 law stipulates that the UGC is responsible for advising the government “on the establishment of new
universities or on proposals for the expansion of the existing universities.” (GoB 1973, p. 3225). New
universities in Bangladesh are established by the national government through laws passed by Parliament
(UGC 2006, p.30). The 1973 Act empowers the UGC to monitor the activities of public institutions by
examining their development plans, collecting statistical information, and evaluating their academic
programs. The legislative framework pertaining to the entry of new public providers is somewhat
outdated, as it was last updated more than 10 years ago.
The entry and operation of private universities is regulated by the Private Universities Act of 2010, and
the government through the Ministry of Education must grant permission for a new private institution to
be established. The ministry initially grants provisional permission to new providers pending their
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fulfilment of multiple governance and infrastructure-related criteria (GoB 2010, pp.3-4). It then grants
permanent operational permission after the subsequent criteria are met by institutions at the request of
the government (GoB 2010, p. 6). The ministry can revoke this operational permission if the institution
does not meet the regulations or if any corruption is detected. The UGC Act of 1973 and its amendments
in 1998 and 1983 assign responsibilities to further monitor private institutions to UGC. The Strategic Plan
for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2017-2030 recommends the creation of a quality assurance unit,
which the UGC has recently established through the Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project
(HEQEP) supported by the World Bank. This unit is responsible for monitoring the quality of both public
and private institutions (UGC forthcoming, p. 6). In the future, this function will most likely be taken over
by the Accreditation Council, following the adoption of the Accreditation Council Act in March 2017. While
the regulatory framework does not distinguish between for-profit, not-for-profit, and cross-border
tertiary education providers, the regulatory framework pertains to all types of private institutions (GoB
2010, p. 2).
The UGC in turn is monitored by the Ministry of Education. As per the University Grants Commission Act
of 1973, the UGC needs to submit an audit report and an activity report annually to the national
government (GoB 1973, p. 3226).
Colleges
Established zzz|
National regulations allow for the establishment and operation of short-term colleges and institutes or
non-university institutions. Most tertiary-level colleges in the country operate under the umbrella of the
National University, which was established in 1992. At its inception, the institution was “entrusted with
the responsibility for all matters relating to, and the administration of, colleges” (GoB 1992a, para. 1). As
such, the National University is responsible for regulating the entry of colleges and for monitoring their
activity, and must submit an annual report and an annual financial audit report to the UGC (GoB 1992a).
TVET Institutions
Established zzz|
As discussed above, most public TVET institutions are governed by the Directorate of Technical Education
(DTE) and the private TVET institutions are affiliated with the Bangladesh Technical Education Board
(BTEB). The curriculum and academic standards are governed by the BTEB, which was established by the
Technical Education Act of 1967 with some independence from the ministry. The BTEB is responsible for
implementing the National Skills Quality Assurance System and the new National Technical and Vocational
Qualifications Framework as well as for strengthening the inspection and evaluation procedures for TVET
institutions (DTE 2014, p. 48). Both the BTEB and the DTE are closely monitored by the Ministry of
Education (GoB 1967).
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Policy Dimension 3: Governance of System and Institutions
Overall score: Emerging zz||
Lever Policy Lever 1: Articulation Policy Lever 2: Autonomy
Lever score ||
Emerging zz| ||
Emerging zz|
Universities - Established zzz|
Colleges - Latent z|||
TVET Institutions - Emerging zz||
The goal of this policy dimension is to assess whether the tertiary education system has adequate
structures, policies, and processes in place to enable tertiary education institutions to operate efficiently
and effectively. The questionnaire also asks whether the main tertiary education authority at the central
level has sufficient staff and resources to guide, support, and monitor tertiary education institutions. This
dimension is comprised of two distinct policy levers: (1) articulation and (2) institutional autonomy. The
overall score of the governance dimension of tertiary education in Bangladesh is Emerging.
Policy Lever: Articulation
Emerging zz||
The first policy lever included in this dimension relates to articulation, which is the ability to integrate and
manage a diversified tertiary education system. It aims to discover the extent to which the regulatory
framework enables the different kinds of tertiary education institutions to coexist and collaborate. On this
policy lever, Bangladesh scored as emerging.
The regulatory framework distinguishes between the functions of universities, colleges and TVET
institutions. While the distinct functions are not clearly specified, various documents point towards the
fact that universities have full autonomy when compared to colleges and TVET institutes (World Bank
2014). Also, teaching functions differ between universities and TVET institutions. The aim of the
curriculum of universities is to “inspire the creativity and liberal thinking of learners” (Ministry of
Education 2010). Meanwhile, the distinct teaching mission of non-universities, specifically TVET
institutions, is specified in a separate regulatory regime and set of qualifications (DTE 2014). According to
the National Education Policy 2010, one of the main missions of the tertiary education sector is to build
skilled manpower to accelerate the economic development of the country (Ministry of Education 2010).
There is substantial collaboration between specialized institutions, particularly among agriculture,
medical, engineering, and between departments (e.g. social sciences, law, business studies, etc.).
Moreover, the National Education Policy 2010 stipulates the importance of enabling collaboration
between engineering institutions to create better apprenticeship programs (Ministry of Education 2010).
One aspect of collaboration is not clearly articulated in policy, namely student transfer between different
types of institutions. An example of such policies is the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
in the European Bologna Process, which enables students to freely transfer between any type of
institution inside the European Higher Education Area, by recognizing their prior experience. While
students in Bangladesh can transfer between institutions depending on seats and the passing of the
admission test, no formal procedures are in place to recognize the existing credit. The procedures enabling
students to transfer between institutions are not clearly formulated at the policy level, except for those
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governing transfers from TVET institutions to universities. The National Education Policy 2010 specifies
that students with a Secondary School Certificate are eligible for admission to various diploma programs
and students with technical diplomas are eligible for admission to Bachelors programs in the same kind
of subjects (Ministry of Education 2010). The BTEB is responsible for setting standards for the admission
and transfer of students in the TVET subsector (World Bank 2006, p. 15). As colleges have no quality
assurance framework, there is no procedure for students to transfer between colleges and from colleges
to other types of institution (World Bank 2014, p. 25). The development of a national quality assurance
procedure and the implementation of the new National Technical and Vocational Qualification Framework
(DTE 2014, pp. 50-51) should make it easier for students to transfer between institutions.
Finally, the tertiary education system has no enabling governance structure that would facilitate
collaboration between primary, secondary and tertiary education. Such formal collaboration could take
the place of policy dialogue between different ministries, deliberative networks of schools, institutes,
colleges and universities or policy plans on the alignment of different kinds of qualifications and entry
routes.
Policy Lever: Institutional Autonomy
Emerging zz||
Tertiary education institutions need autonomy to fulfill their missions. The aim of this policy lever is to
find out how different types of autonomy manifest themselves within the system. The types of
institutional autonomy assessed by the SABER-TE tool for both public and private institutions are (1) the
ability to negotiate performance standards, (2) academic autonomy to set curricula, (3) staffing
autonomy, (4) governance autonomy, and (5) financial autonomy including the freedom to diversify
funding sources. On this policy lever, Bangladesh is considered emerging. In the case of this policy lever,
we discuss universities, colleges, and the TVET institutions separately, noting any relevant distinctions
between the public and the private sector.
There is one general reflection about institutional autonomy. Performance-based funding is not in place
for either public or private institutions in Bangladesh (see also the next policy dimension on financing).
This means that universities, colleges, and TVET institutions are unable to negotiate any performance
targets with the government or with their regulatory agencies. The Strategic Plan for Higher Education:
2017-2030 recommends the introduction of performance-based funding in which the funding allocated
to institutions is dependent on outcomes such as enrollment rates, retention rates, and completion rates
for courses and degrees as opposed to the historic way of allocating funds based on fixed costs (UGC
forthcoming, p. 13).
Universities
Established zzz|
The degree of academic autonomy held by public and private universities is mixed. As stipulated in various
university statutes, public universities have the autonomy to create their own curriculum, to decide on
the number of students to admit, to organize competitive admission procedures, to evaluate programs
and teaching methodologies, and to grant degrees, titles, and certificates. The courses and curriculum
offered by each university as well as its diploma requirements and admission process are prescribed by
their individual charters (Dhaka University Order 1973). Similarly, any officer of the university authorized
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by the Syndicate 3 or Vice-Chancellor 4 can inspect the academic instruction provided within the university
or its affiliated colleges. In addition, the national government does not infringe on the ability of public
universities to organize internships and practical training or conduct research. Private universities have a
significant amount of academic autonomy but are also subject to government oversight. They are able to
design their own curricula but both the design of the curriculum and any changes to its degree programs
need to be approved by the UGC (GoB 2010, pp. 12-19). The UGC approves most such requests, except
for isolated cases when the private universities are known not to have the capacity or infrastructure to
open new programs. The academic structure of private universities is prescribed by the 2010 Private
Universities Act. Private universities have the autonomy to conduct their own admission procedures as
well as to determine how many students to admit (GoB 2010, p. 11), and are under little regulatory
pressure to promote equity or affirmative action (GoB 2010, p. 6). The Private Universities Act also enables
private universities to create internal units responsible for ensuring the quality of their education. The Act
requires the annual reports of private universities to provide information about the standards of the
education that they provide (GoB 2010, p. 20) and to allocate a specific fraction of their budget towards
research purposes (GoB 2010, p. 6). Private universities are able to award degrees after receiving
permission from the UGC (Alam et al 2007, p. 39) and to include internships and training in their curricula.
Public universities also have considerable autonomy over staffing. Subject to government approval, they
can create new academic and non-academic posts, can hire and fire academic and non-academic staff,
and define the conditions of their service (Dhaka University Order 1973). However, they do not have the
power to set salaries or offer performance pay to their academic staff, because these staff are public
servants so their salaries are set by the government. Nevertheless, there are systems through which
academic staff can receive top-ups to their salaries. One such system is the admission exam system, which
leads to considerable income for academic staff, particularly in the most prestigious institutions. In
practice, there are documented cases where institutional staff autonomy was not respected (TIB, 2016).
There have been anecdotal reports of political pressures and criteria playing a role in the recruitment and
promotion of academic staff to public universities in Bangladesh (UGC forthcoming, p.14). Private
universities in Bangladesh are able to create new academic positions, draft conditions of service (GoB
2010, p. 9), and hire, promote, and fire academic and non-academic staff. Private universities are also able
to set salaries and offer performance pay in contrast with public universities (GoB 2010, p. 21).
Governance autonomy is limited for both public and private universities as governance structures and
leadership appointments are tightly regulated by national legislation through the Act under which the
institution is established and functions. The Chancellor of every university, whether public or private is
the President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The Chancellor appoints a Vice-Chancellor, Pro Vice-
Chancellor(s), and Treasurer for each university on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The
governance structure of each public university consists of a Syndicate, Finance Committee, Planning and
Development Committee and an Academic Council. But seven public universities have an additional
institutional body called Senate and six have a Regent Board in place of Syndicate. The Senate consists of
members nominated by the government, various professional bodies and academics who are elected by
their fellow academic staff. The Syndicate includes deans, provosts, professors, associate professors,
assistant professors, and lecturers who are all elected by academic staff, as well as officials appointed by
the government. The Academic Council consists of all deans, chairmen of departments and partly of
members nominated by the Chancellor (Dhaka University Order 1973).
3
The Syndicate is an organizational structure within each university that has executive powers. Its members generally consist of a variety of
internal stakeholders.
4
The Vice-Chancellor is the principal executive and academic officer of the university who chairs key institutional committees.
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Public and private universities have a high degree of legal autonomy and continuity over their sources of
funding. However, the ability of public universities to determine their own tuition fee levels is limited
because government has set a moratorium due to its political sensitivity. The recently established public
universities have much higher level of tuition fees compared to old ones. Although the tuition fee rate is
comparatively low, public universities charge additional fees from the students that are much higher. In
contrast, private universities can set their own tuition levels and other charges which are considerably
higher compared to public universities (GoB 2010, p. 9). Public universities can accumulate reserves and
carry out surplus state funding, borrow money, invest money in financial and physical assets, own and sell
buildings, and deliver contractual services. Similarly, private universities can borrow and invest money,
sell and own property, and deliver contractual services.
Colleges
Latent z|||
Public affiliated colleges have virtually no autonomy and are considered as government agencies. Non-
government (i.e. private) colleges, on the other hand, enjoy substantial autonomy. The Academic Council
of the National University is responsible for drafting the curriculum of both public and private affiliated
colleges in Bangladesh (GoB 1992a). The National University is also responsible for the admission
procedures of both public and private colleges, for creating new academic programs, and for determining
the academic structure of colleges as well as the number of teachers per subject and the number of
students that they may admit (World Bank 2014, p. 28). The Inspector of Colleges of the National
University is responsible for inspecting both public and private affiliated colleges, while the Curriculum
Development and Evaluation Center is responsible for evaluating their programs and the Controller of
Examinations is responsible for arranging the student assessment (GoB 1992a).
Public affiliated colleges have no staffing autonomy as the government is responsible for creating staff
positions and hiring academic and non-academic staff, making posting and promotion decisions, building
career paths, and firing academic staff (GoB 1992a). Interviews with stakeholders suggest that private
colleges have greater staffing autonomy. While their staff positions, promotion, and firing decisions follow
the regulations set by the National University, private colleges can set the pay scales for their teachers
and non-academic staff. The governing boards of private colleges can freely recruit teachers that are
certified by the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA).
Public affiliated colleges do not have governance autonomy. The National University Act provides for
Governing Bodies in all affiliated public and private colleges. In practice, public affiliated colleges do not
have governing bodies and are headed by principals (World Bank 2014, p. 33). Private affiliated colleges
cannot exercise much governance autonomy either. The appointment of their governing bodies is
overseen by the National University Regulation (World Bank 2014, p. 29). Additionally, interviews with
stakeholders confirmed that the private affiliated colleges do not have the autonomy to change their
mission, or appoint internal and external stakeholders to their governing bodies. Indeed, the composition
of the Governing Body follows the provision of the National University Act and its Regulation.
Public affiliated colleges have no autonomy to diversify their funding sources as the government sets their
tuition fees, which go to the Treasury. The National University receives the admission and examination
fees collected by colleges. According to experts, a share of these fees are provided to college teachers as
unofficial salary (World Bank 2014, p. 27-28). Also, the physical buildings and land occupied by public
colleges are owned by the government and cannot be sold by the institutions, and any unspent public
money must be returned to the government at the end of the fiscal year. Private affiliated colleges have
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more autonomy to diversify their funding sources. They can set tuition fees but must do so within the
limits set by the National University (World Bank 2014, p. 29). In addition, they have the autonomy to
borrow money, invest in assets, sell land and buildings, and deliver contractual services.
TVET Institutions
Emerging zz||
Neither public nor private TVET institutions have academic autonomy. The Bangladesh Technical
Education Board (BTEB) is responsible for designing the curriculum for both public and private TVET
institutions. The BTEB is also responsible for determining the criteria for student admission, assessment,
and certification (ADB, 2015). The Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) is responsible for evaluating
the programs provided by the TVET institutions, including their facilities.
There is a high degree of centralization within the TVET system and staffing autonomy for public TVET
institutions does not exist. The responsibilities for major staff decisions such as hiring and setting salaries
are divided between the DTE and the BTEB. Public TVET institutions and departments have no autonomy
over recruiting academic staff. Instead, the DTE has the responsibility for recruiting teachers and staff for
public TVET institutions (DTE 2014 p. 51). This makes it difficult for TVET institutions to secure the number
and quality of staff that they need. The one exception is that they can recruit temporary staff for limited
periods of time. The National Skills Development Policy recommends decentralizing the responsibility of
recruiting teachers for TVET institutions (Ministry of Education 2011). In contrast, private TVET institutions
have substantial autonomy. Interviews with stakeholders suggest that private TVET institutions can create
new positions, hire, promote, and fire staff, set salaries, and offer performance pay.
In terms of governance autonomy, the public TVET institutions are constrained by the powers held by the
BTEB and the DTE. Private TVET institutions have more governance autonomy: they can change their
mission and appoint external and internal stakeholders to their governance bodies. Reports from the field
suggest that some private institutes fail to follow the standards set by the BTEB.
Public TVET institutions have little autonomy to diversify their funding sources. Most of the fees paid by
students for their education at TVET institutions is paid to the BTEB (Dohmen 2009, p. 59). One exception
is that public TVET institutions can make additional income by providing additional self-supporting short
courses (Dohmen 2009, p. 40). Private TVET institutions have more autonomy to diversify their funding
sources. Some private TVET institutions can set their tuition levels and fund themselves almost exclusively
through this source (Dohmen 2009, p. 41). Private TVET institutions may also borrow money, invest in
assets, sell land and buildings, and deliver contractual services.
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Policy Dimension 4: Financing
Overall score: Emerging zz||
Lever Policy lever 1: Coverage Policy lever 2: Policy lever 3: Resource
of Resource Allocation Mechanism of Resource Utilization for Equity
Allocation
Lever score z|
Established zzz Latent z||| ||
Latent z||
Universities Advanced zzzz Emerging zz|| -
Colleges Emerging zz|| Latentz||| -
TVET Institutions Emerging zz|| Latentz||| -
As public funding for tertiary education institutions becomes scarcer around the world, SABER-TE aims to
find out if public financing is being used to steer tertiary education toward established system-wide goals.
The dimension is comprised of three distinct policy levers (1) coverage of resource allocation, (2) resource
allocation, and (3) resource utilization. The overall score for the financing of tertiary education in
Bangladesh is Emerging. The first two levers in this dimension are evaluated for each tertiary education
subsector, while the last lever is evaluated across the tertiary education system.
Policy Lever: Coverage of Resource Allocation
Established zzz|
This policy lever aims to map what types of expenditures are supported by public funding allocations to
both public and private tertiary education institutions. On this policy lever, Bangladesh is scored as
established. Public universities are heavily dependent on public allocations; private universities receive
public funding only in very specific circumstances. Private TVET institutions and private colleges receive
public funding from the development projects. This variation explains the scoring differences between
subsectors on this lever.
Universities
Established zzz|
Public allocations can be used to support both the recurrent and capital expenditures of public universities
(Middlehurst & Woodfield 2004, p.10) including land purchases, the construction of new facilities, the
renovation of existing facilities, and the purchase of equipment (UGC 2017). Private universities receive
limited amounts of conditional public funds in the form of grants for academic infrastructure, and more
recently for research. This source of financing is known as the Academic Innovation Fund (AIF) (Ministry
of Education 2015), which are allocated as part of the Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project
(HEQEP) project, under the national development budget, and not as part of a recurrent and sustainable
government scheme. Otherwise, private universities receive no public funding (GoB 2010, p. 21). The
HEQEP was initiated by the Ministry of Education and is offered in partnership with the World Bank with
the goal of promoting academic innovation and building institutional capacity. AIF research allocations
are granted to public and private universities as institutions rather than to individual researchers.
Individual faculty from public universities and government colleges can apply for grants for postgraduate
research from the UGC. Additionally, individual faculties from public universities receive grants from the
UGC for doing small-scale research. Apart from these arrangements, the Secondary & Higher Education
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Division under the Ministry of Education operates a scheme of providing research grants under its non-
development budget to university faculties following a competitive funding mechanism. The Ministry of
Science and Technology also has a long established similar scheme of providing research grants to
individual scientists and entrepreneurs.
Colleges
Emerging zz||
Public colleges receive funding for their non-development expenditures (World Bank 2014, p. 28) and for
the salaries of their academic and non-academic staff. Improvement/renovation of physical and academic
facilities in public and private colleges are done separately under the government’s development budget.
Neither public nor private colleges are eligible to receive research funds, but public college faculties can
apply for grants for postgraduate studies (M Phil, PhD) from UGC.
TVET Institutions
Emerging zz||
Some private TVET institutions that are registered with the BTEB are eligible to receive basic public funding
in the form of monthly pay orders (MPO) to cover selected teachers’ salaries. Public funds received by
public TVET institutions may be used to purchase land and to build new facilities (Dohmen 2009, p. 43).
TVET institutions do not receive any research funding.
Policy Lever: Resource Allocation Mechanism
Latent z|||
This policy lever aims to assess the process through which public funds are allocated to tertiary education
institutions, particularly the transparency with which funding is allocated and the criteria used for this
process. On this policy lever, Bangladesh is scored as latent.
Bangladesh has no publicly known formula for funding tertiary education institutions (UGC forthcoming,
p. 13). The process of allocating financing is governed by rules, however, and there is an implicit funding
formula (see below).
To some extent, performance-based funding or performance indicators are used in the funding allocation
process, although not for the bulk of public funding. There is a competitive line of funding available
through the HEQEP project for research aimed at promoting innovation and addressing national priorities,
but this is available only to a limited number of universities. There are other competitive research funding
schemes operated by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science & Technology especially meant
for university faculties, researchers and scientists.
Universities
Emerging zz||
In Bangladesh, block grant funding for public universities (from the government’s national budget) is
allocated on the basis of availability of total funding, budget proposals, historic spending patterns. The
funding formula follows the expenditure items predetermined by the Finance Division/Treasury. The
expenditure items are called “Economic Codes” and allocations are given against each Economic Code.
The Economic Codes are clustered into two groups, i.e., (i) Revenue (salaries and allowances, supply and
services, grants, repair, rehabilitation and maintenance, bloc allocation), (ii) Capital Costs (land
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acquisition/purchase, asset procurement/purchase, construction/civil works, investment in share and
equity, capital grants, load and advances). The Economic Codes with allocation figures is called budget
and every government and para-government institution has to submit the draft budget proposal to the
Treasury/Finance Division annually for its approval and receiving allocations. Separately the Development
Projects Portfolio is prepared by the Planning Commission and known as Annual Development Program
(ADP) but allocation against each development project is made by the Finance Division. Therefore, ADP
allocations depend on the availability of the overall level of budget availability in the Treasury. The
national budget allocation, expenditure and auditing is managed by a computer program by the Finance
Division called integrated budget and accounting system (iBAS) and all public and semi-government
intuitions are covered by this system.
Universities can anticipate the budget that they will receive with some degree of confidence.
Colleges
Latent z|||
Public colleges are able to propose their own budgets, but the final decision on what to fund is taken by
the national government, which allocates funding using a line-item budget.
TVET Institutions
Latent z|||
The central government allocates line-item funding to TVET institutions using a historic input-based
system based on recommendations from the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE).
Policy Lever: Resources Utilization for Equity
Latent z|||
With this lever, SABER-TE aims to assess the extent to which public funding is used to advance a country’s
equity goals. Such policies can include government-backed student loans, scholarship programs, and
financial incentives to tertiary education institutions to reach equity targets. Clear monitoring of equity
goals is another best practice indicator to improve equity. On this policy lever, Bangladesh is assessed as
latent.
A limited number of public programs are in place to provide financial aid to students from disadvantaged
backgrounds with the aim of advancing equity goals in access and retention (UGC forthcoming, p. 79). This
financial aid is known as stipend and especially targeted to students from low-income families. On the
other hand, the scholarships allocation scheme targets students with high academic performance scores
(GPA) and known as merit scholarship. The Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2017-2030
suggests that such stipend schemes need to be supplemented and extended to other social groups such
as the children of freedom fighters and small ethnic groups (UGC forthcoming, p. 24). Currently, there is
no financial cost-sharing mechanism available for disadvantaged groups and no financial incentives for
institutions to pursue equity goals. However, plans exist to use endowments from international partners
to create a trust for providing low-interest, need-based loans to disadvantaged students (UGC
forthcoming, p. 79).
Within the TVET sector, a range of financial assistance programs exist for trainees and students. For
instance, under the Skills and Training Enhancement (STEP) project, the Ministry of Education offers
scholarships to girls to stimulate entrance into TVET. The project also includes subsidies for tuition fees
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for girls in TVET. These financial incentives cover only a subset of TVET institutions, and are not systemic
efforts to increase equity in the TVET system.
Policy Dimension 5: Quality Assurance
Overall score: Emerging zz||
Lever Policy Lever 1: Accreditation and Policy Lever 2: TEMIS
Institutional QA Standards
Lever score ||
Emerging zz| ||
Emerging zz|
Universities Established zzz| Emerging zz||
Colleges Latentz||| Emerging zz||
TVET Institutions Established zzz| Emerging zz||
This policy dimension attempts to assess the state of quality assurance. Two policy levers are included as
part of this dimension: (1) accreditation and institutional quality standards and (2) a tertiary education
management information system (TEMIS). The overall score for the quality assurance policy dimension
for Bangladesh is Emerging. Most policy levers are discussed for each subsector of Bangladesh’s tertiary
education system.
None of the three agencies involved in quality assurance – the UGC, the BTEB and the DTE - has developed
quality assurance standards for either programs or institutions. The Accreditation Council is scheduled to
develop and uphold such standards for colleges and universities (but not for TVET institutions, as the
government of Bangladesh does not consider this to be “higher education”). At present, the quality
assurance framework in Bangladesh does not provide any incentives for tertiary education institutions to
develop management information systems. Lastly, details of sanctions for institutions not passing the
accreditation and quality assurance procedures have not yet been articulated. All these procedures should
be elaborated in the near future.
Policy Lever: Accreditation and Institutional Quality Assurance Standards
Emerging zz||
This policy lever evaluates the key actors involved in the quality assurance process, their independence,
the jurisdiction of their activity, and how the quality assurance process is implemented. On this policy
lever, Bangladesh is scored as emerging.
Universities
Established zzz|
The UGC currently acts as an institutional accreditation agency for both public and private universities.
From a legal perspective, the UGC is not fully autonomous from the government, as the head of the UGC
and five permanent members are appointed by the government (GoB 1973). It is also not fully
independent from the tertiary education institutions. In practice, however, the UGC has substantial
autonomy, as it is freely able to recruit its 275 staff, and has its own service rules. The UGC has nationwide
jurisdiction over national providers in Bangladesh but no national regulation grants the UGC jurisdiction
over cross-border providers. University leaders and faculty members, as key stakeholders, are involved in
the UGC’s quality assurance processes. Institutions that do not meet the UGC’s accreditation and quality
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assurance standards can be expected to suffer financial consequences (GoB 1973), but the details of these
sanctions have not been articulated.
The Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh 2006-2026 proposed the establishment of a
national qualification framework for higher education and for the accreditation of study programs offered
by public and private universities, which in addition to ensuring high standards, would help students
transfer their earned credits to other universities (UGC 2006, p. 38). Subsequently, the Accreditation
Council Act of 2017, passed by the Parliament on March 7, 2017 is expected to implement a National
Qualifications Framework for higher education that was drafted by the UGC. It will also coordinate
accreditation efforts and to oversee quality enhancement in higher education (UGC forthcoming, p. 112).
Colleges
Latent z|||
While the quality assurance function for colleges is legally the responsibility of the National University, in
practice it exercises only limited quality assurance supervision. Eventually the tertiary education colleges
should come under the jurisdiction of the Accreditation Council’s quality assurance mechanism.
TVET Institutions
Established zzz|
The quality assurance functions for TVET institutions rest with the BTEB and the DTE. The BTEB generates
its own income by charging accreditation and examination fees. The DTE has varied portfolio of activities
that include monitoring and evaluating the TVET institutions under its jurisdiction (World Bank 2014, pp.
48-51). While the two bodies are steered by the Ministry of Education, it cannot interfere in the specific
decisions of the BTEB or the DTE. The two agencies have national jurisdiction in Bangladesh, but, like the
UGC, they have no jurisdiction over (international) cross-border providers. Representatives of the TVET
institutions are involved in the quality assurance activities of the two agencies, by participating in their
governance structures but, like the Ministry of Education, they may not influence their decisions. While
there are financial implications for any institutions that do not meet quality assurance standards, the
details of these sanctions are not clear.
Policy Lever: Tertiary Education Management Information System (TEMIS).
Emerging zz||
A tertiary education management information system (TEMIS) is a management tool for tracking data on
tertiary education. It can be used to disseminate information about tertiary education to the public, to
plan budgetary allocations, or to evaluate the effectiveness of policy reforms. This policy lever aims to
measure the extent to which in any given country there are formal procedures for systematically collecting
data in the form of a single system-wide tertiary education management system (TEMIS). Bangladesh is
evaluated as emerging on this policy lever. This is primarily because the TEMIS for all subsectors covers
only a limited range of indicators, and is not yet easily accessible or used for policy-making. The country
is currently in the process of revising and further developing a TEMIS system for its TVET and college
subsectors (World Bank 2015b p. 46).
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Universities
Emerging zz||
Public and private universities are covered by a TEMIS called the Higher Education Management
Information System (HEMIS). The HEMIS captures student-level data including student enrollment,
retention and dropout rates, and graduation rates; demographic data related to gender; financial data
pertaining to tuition fees, financial aid for students, and scholarships; and data on faculty/student ratios.
No data are gathered on student readiness for university, graduate outcomes, graduate placement in jobs,
institutions’ contributions to local economic, social, or cultural development, or research and
development (R&D) and innovative research outcomes. At present, there is limited evidence that the UGC
or the Ministry of Education use information in the HEMIS to evaluate or reform the university subsector.
Colleges
Emerging zz||
Colleges maintain a limited TEMIS operated by the National University. There exists a database of
institutions, teacher database and student registration and examination database. Some of this data is
published on the website of the National University 5. The BANBEIS also publishes statistics on enrolments,
disaggregated by gender. However, the system is not fully accessible online to the larger public. It also
does not collect data on a range of relevant indicators, such as financial data pertaining to tuition fees,
financial aid for students, student readiness for university, graduate outcomes, graduate placement in
jobs, institutions’ contributions to local economic, social, or cultural development, or research and
development (R&D) and innovative research outcomes. At present, there is limited evidence that the
Ministry of Education use information in the TEMIS for colleges to evaluate or reform the subsector.
TVET
Emerging zz||
The BTEB has maintained a TEMIS for online student admission, graduation results, as well as for the
publication and issuance of certificates. Some of this data has been published in an extensive report that
can be used for policy-making (BTEB, 2016). The BANBEIS also publishes statistics on enrolments,
disaggregated by gender. However, the TEMIS for TVET is not easily accessible online, and does not collect
data on a range of relevant indicators, such as financial data pertaining to tuition fees, financial aid for
students, student readiness for university, graduate outcomes, graduate placement in jobs, institutions’
contributions to local economic, social, or cultural development, or research and development (R&D) and
innovative research outcomes. At present, there is some evidence that the BTEB use information in the
HEMIS to evaluate or reform the TVET subsector.
5
For the database, see http://services.nu.edu.bd/nu-app/college/
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Policy Dimension 6: Relevance to Social and Economic Needs
Overall score: Established zzz|
Policy Lever 1: Economic Policy Lever 2: Fostering RDI Policy Lever 3: Fostering Socio-
Development Cultural Development
Advanced zzzz Established zzz| Emerging zz||
This policy dimension on Relevance to Social and Economic Needs aims to assess if a given country’s
tertiary education institutions are conducting research and development activities that respond to local
conditions, resources, and needs, and are oriented towards social development. This dimension consists
of three distinct policy levers: (1) economic development, (2) fostering research, development, and
innovation (RDI), and (3) fostering social and cultural development and environmental protection and
sustainability. The assessment for this policy dimension is established. This dimension is evaluated at the
system level, rather than separately for universities, colleges and TVET institutes.
Policy Lever: Economic Development
This policy lever aims to discover the extent to which there is a system-wide or sector-specific policy
mandate to strengthen the role of tertiary education in enhancing economic development in Bangladesh.
For this policy lever, Bangladesh is scored Advanced. It should be noted, however, that high numbers of
graduates remain unemployed. It is still questioned, therefore, whether the current policy initiatives
translate into effective outcomes.
Multiple policy and strategy documents mention the need to enhance economic development by
consolidating the tertiary education sector. The 2010 National Education Policy mentioned the need to
increase the supply of skilled manpower to develop information technology as a prospective area of
export and to consolidate economic development (Ministry of Education 2010, pp. 16-32). Similarly, the
2011 National Skills Development Policy, which particularly targeted the TVET sector, was built around the
premise that “skills, knowledge, and innovation are important driving forces for economic growth and
social development” (Ministry of Education 2011, p. 7). The Seventh Five Year Plan FY2016-FY2020
advocates the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to equip students at all levels with
economically relevant skills. The plan recommends the development of loan and scholarship schemes for
students from disadvantaged backgrounds to study ICT in order to prevent brain drain (GEDPC 2015, pp.
634-635). It also proposes improving teacher quality in the TVET subsector and introducing incentives to
encourage individuals to pursue degrees and research in engineering (Ministry of Education 2010, pp. 26-
27), the sciences, and ICT (Ministry of Education 2010, pp. 31-32).
Significant initiatives aimed at promoting economic development have been implemented in the country.
The HEQEP project aims to foster Bangladesh’s economic development through the consolidation of
human capital. The Skills and Training Enhancement Project (STEP) is financed by the World Bank and aims
to improve the quality of training and increase the employability of trainees “including those from
disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds” (World Bank n.d.). The implementation of the project is
being monitored. The College Education Development Project (CEDP) is aimed at improving the quality of
teaching and governance within the college subsector and increasing its relevance to the country’s
economic and social development goals. The project is sponsored and implemented by the Ministry of
Education and the National University, with the support of the World Bank (Alborta 2016). Several other
development projects aimed at improving the quality and capacity of colleges are being implemented in
the country. These projects would contribute towards improving the stock of human capital and producing
skilled graduates capable of competing in the global job market.
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Policy Lever: Fostering Research, Development and Innovation
This policy lever evaluates the support provided to research, development, and innovation (RDI) activities
in a given country by finding out whether a system-wide or sector-specific policy mandate exists to
strengthen RDI in tertiary education and whether there are any financial incentives or specific programs
aimed at encouraging this. On this policy lever, Bangladesh is considered as Established.
Bangladesh has several policy proposals advocating the enhancement of RDI activities. The 2010 National
Education Policy discussed the need to provide more Masters and PhD programs focused on agriculture-
related subjects (Ministry of Education 2010, p.36) and to adjust the pay scale for faculty with Masters
and PhDs (Ministry of Education 2010, p.67). The Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2017-
2030 recommends that students should be supported in studying for PhDs abroad in fields that are not
well developed in Bangladesh (UGC forthcoming, p. 80) and that industries should offer fellowship
programs to doctoral and post-doctoral students in technology-related fields (UGC forthcoming, p. 107).
In addition, the plan suggests creating a Central Research Laboratory (UGC forthcoming, p. 7), which
would support scientific and technological research as well as foster collaboration between universities
and industry (UGC forthcoming, p. 116). While many of these proposals have not yet been implemented,
the HEQEP is making a significant contribution towards RDI activities and is currently the major program
implementing financial incentives. In addition to HEQEP, the Ministry of Education has a competitive
funding program titled Research and Innovation Fund which invites research proposals from the
universities and scientists of the country. The funding program awards grants through a transparent
selection process done by peer reviewers. A similar research grant program is implemented by the
Ministry of Science & Technology. Lastly, the Strategic Plan for Higher Education in Bangladesh: 2017-
2030 recommends that companies and entrepreneurs in Bangladesh should consider collaborating with
academic institutions on RDI (UGC forthcoming, p. 105) and that public funding should be made available
to build partnerships to conduct RDI activities (UGC forthcoming, p. 67). However, these proposals have
not yet been implemented.
Policy Lever: Fostering Social and Cultural Development and Environmental Protection and
Sustainability
The purpose of this policy lever is to gauge the degree to which a country has policies in place to ensure
that tertiary education contributes to the country’s social and cultural development as well as its
environmental protection and sustainability. On this policy lever, Bangladesh is rated as emerging.
Several initiatives exist in Bangladesh to strengthen the role played by tertiary education in fostering social
and cultural development. The national government has developed the Draft National Strategy for
Promotion of Gender Equality in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Bangladesh,
which aims to increase access to TVET education for women as to address the current staggering gender
gap in education enrollment in TVET institutions (female enrolment ranges from 9% to13% in the public
institutions and 33% in private institutions). The document applies to universities that offer technical and
engineering courses as well as TVET institutions. The strategy recommends using tax rebates to enhance
employment opportunities for women and using loan schemes to promote women’s self-employment
(GoB 2012, pp. 21-26). However, the impact of these measures has not been monitored. In terms of the
social development, the STEP project is providing support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds,
and a few scholarship opportunities exist aimed at increasing the access of disadvantaged students to
tertiary education (UGC forthcoming, p. 79).
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There are currently no specific policy initiatives in the tertiary education sector to strengthen the role of
tertiary education in fostering environmental protection and sustainability. However, the country has
several policies and projects aimed at protecting the environment. In practice, there is a strong knowledge
transfer between universities and industry on aspects connected to environmental protection and green
technologies. Individual universities, such as BUET, have programs on environmental sciences, and
provide outreach to industry on environmental issues.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The tertiary education sector in Bangladesh is complex, consisting of different subsectors that contain
both public and private institutions. These institutions have different regulators, different academic
standards, different types of students, and different interests. Because of this complexity, it would be
useful for the government to elaborate a vision for the entire tertiary education system, including TVET
institutes, colleges and universities. This could help students to move more freely between types of
institutions, to choose programs that prepare them for the labor market, and to increase equity in the
system.
There are many different laws that apply to the different subsectors of tertiary education in Bangladesh,
without one overall legislative framework behind it. As a result, there are some inconsistencies between
the different sub-sectors, for instance in the different levels of autonomy between types of institutions.
Another major question is whether regulation is always enforced and whether policy is being
implemented. The Private Universities Act has been in existence since 1992, and was recently revised in
2010. However, many stakeholders feel that this regulation is not being enforced, and that some private
universities do not offer high quality degree programs. It is anticipated that the Accreditation Council can
address some of these challenges.
The governance system is another area of concern. While public universities have substantial autonomy
based on the legislation, there are some political restrictions in practice. Political parties, student unions,
teacher unions, and other organizations see the main university campuses as their battlegrounds, rather
than as centers for higher learning and research (Monem & Baniamin 2010). The private tertiary education
institutions (universities, colleges, and TVET institutions) are seen as a mechanism for profit making
without necessarily providing a stimulating academic environment. Finally, in contrast with public
universities, public colleges and TVET institutions have virtually no autonomy on academic, staffing,
funding and governance matters. In all cases, one of the key questions that needs to be answered is how
tertiary education institutions can be made more autonomous while also being held accountable for their
academic performance.
The financing system is one area where this autonomy goal can be achieved. In recent years, innovative
financing arrangements have been introduced such as the Academic Innovation Fund under the HEQEP
project, which provides competitive research funding, but more could be done to make more efficient use
of public resources. Performance-based funding could be introduced to make universities more
accountable for public funding. A similar system could be designed for colleges and TVET institutions if
they were given more autonomy to manage their finances. The question that the regulatory agencies need
to consider is whether to shift their focus to the outcomes of the system rather than just considering its
inputs.
Perhaps the most notable development in the tertiary education sector in Bangladesh has been the swift
development of the private sector. Because many new (mostly private for-profit) institutions are being
SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 22
BANGLADESH ۣ TERTIARY EDUCATION SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2017
created, the government and the regulatory agencies should continuously update their practices to keep
up. On the one hand, the rise of new private actors may increase the competition for the best students,
and drive up standards. At present, however, it seems that only few private institutions can offer high
quality degree programs. Quality standards need to be strictly enforced in the private sector. Again, the
passing of the Accreditation Council Act is an important step in the right direction. The qualifications
framework is also important, particularly in the TVET sector.
SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 23
BANGLADESH ۣ TERTIARY EDUCATION SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2017
Acknowledgements
The SABER team would like to thank Professor Abdul Mannan, Chairman of the University Grants
Commission, Professor Harun-or-Rashid, Vice Chancellor of the National University, and Dr. Md.
Mostafizur Rahman, chairman of Bangladesh Technical Education Board, for their support during data
collection. We would also like to extend our thanks to all the interviewees who have given their time to
contribute to the project. We would like to thank Yoko Nagashima and Mokhlesur Rahman, the Co-Task
Team Leaders, for taking the initiative to implement this project. We would also like to thank the team in
Bangladesh, including Aftab Uddin Ahmad, Shiro Nakata, Tashmina Rahman, and Muhammad Asahabur
Rahman (in alphabetical order), for all their support in the data collection and validation exercise. In the
SABER team, Koen Geven collected the data, while Ghazala Mehmood played a key role in completing the
questionnaire, and Georgiana Mihut worked on the report.
Acronyms
ADB Asian Development Bank
ADP Annual Development Program
AIF Academic Innovation Fund
BANBEIS Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics
BTEB Bangladesh Technical Education Board
CEDP College Education Development Project
DTE Directorate of Technical Education
GEDPC General Economic Division Planning Commission
GoB Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh
HEMIS Higher Education Management Information System
HEQEP Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project
iBAS Integrated budget and accounting system
NTRCA Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority
NSDC National Skills Development Council
NSDP National Skills Development Policy
SABER Systems Approach for Better Education Results
STEM Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
STEP Skills and Training Enhancement Project
TE Tertiary education
TVET Technical and vocational education and training
TEMIS Tertiary education management information system
UGC University Grants Commission
SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 24
BANGLADESH ۣ TERTIARY EDUCATION SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2017
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Appendix – Best Practice Indicators used in SABER-Tertiary Education
1. Vision
1.1 1.2
The country/state has a fully developed The creation of the tertiary education
vision/strategic plan for tertiary education that vision/strategic plan is relevant and representative,
serves as a guide for steering the system and includes input from key stakeholders and
considers key societal factors
2. Regulatory Environment
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
The country has an The regulatory The regulatory The regulatory framework
explicitly stated framework includes framework includes includes provisions to
tertiary education law provisions to provisions to adequately regulate the
for steering the adequately regulate adequately regulate market entry and
system towards the market entry and the market entry and operation of non-
optimal performance. operation of public operation of private university institutions.
tertiary education tertiary education
providers. providers.
2.5 2.6 2.7
The regulatory The regulatory The regulatory
framework includes framework includes framework embeds
provisions to provisions to key guiding principles.
adequately regulate adequately regulate
the distance and the independent
online education. agencies and buffer
bodies.
3. Governance
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4
The regulatory The regulatory The tertiary system The tertiary system has an
framework framework provides has an enabling enabling governance
establishes distinct incentives to governance structure structure that facilitates
functions for strengthen the unique that facilitates student transfer across
university and non- mission of different collaboration institutions.
university institutions institutions. between institutions.
in contributing to
system-wide goals.
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3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8
The tertiary system Public TEIs are able to The governance The governance
has an enabling negotiate at least framework for public framework for public TEIs
governance structure some performance TEIs supports their supports their staffing
that facilitates targets with academic autonomy. autonomy.
collaboration and/or stakeholders, such as
communication with the government or
other educational tertiary education
sectors (e.g. agencies (TEAs).
secondary education).
3.9 3.10 3.11 3.12
The regulatory The governance Private TEIs are able The governance
framework for public framework grants to negotiate at least framework for private TEIs
TEIs supports their public TEIs significant some performance supports their academic
governance freedom to diversify targets with autonomy.
autonomy. their sources of stakeholders, such as
funding. the government or
TEAs.
3.13 3.14 3.15
The governance The regulatory Private TEIs enjoy
framework for private framework for private significant freedom to
TEIs supports their TEIs supports their diversify their sources
staffing autonomy. governance of funding.
autonomy.
4. Financing
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4
Public funds are Public funds allocated Public funds allocated Public funds are allocated
allocated to to public TEIs cover to public TEIs cover to private TEIs to cover
accredited public and recurrent expenditure research expenditure. research expenditure.
private TEIs. and capital
expenditure.
4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8
Public funds are There is a publicly The stakeholders that Performance-based
allocated to TEIs known or publicly contribute to funding is used as part of
through a stable and accessible formula for determining the the funding allocation
transparent process the allocation of different parts of the mechanism.
and using a block public funds for TEIs, funding allocation
grant budget system. which specifies the mechanism are clearly
amounts disbursed as identified.
fixed and variable
funding.
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BANGLADESH ۣ TERTIARY EDUCATION SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2017
4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12
There is a mechanism There is at least one There are public The financial cost-sharing
which involves data competitive line of programs in place to mechanisms available
collection for funding accessible to provide financial aid effectively serve the
monitoring the TEIs aimed at to students from needs of targeted
progress of promoting innovation disadvantaged beneficiaries.
institutions toward or to address national backgrounds with the
performance targets. priorities. goal of advancing
equity goals in access
and retention.
4.13 4.14
The outcomes of There are financial
financial aid programs incentives to reward
for students are institutions that meet
adequately equity goals.
monitored.
5. Quality Assurance
5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4
There is at least one The IAA(s) or QAA(s) The IAA(s) or QAA(s) The IAA(s)'s or QAA(s)'s
institutional is/are independent is/are independent jurisdiction is nationwide.
accreditation agency agency/agencies from agency/agencies from
(IAA) or quality government. TEIs.
assurance agency
(QAA) that oversees
the quality of
individual institutions
in the country.
5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8
The IAA(s)'s or The IAA(s)'s or The IAA(s)'s or The IAA(s) or QAA(s)
QAA(s)'s jurisdiction QAA(s)'s jurisdiction QAA(s)'s jurisdiction has/have developed
includes both public includes both includes full time, part Institutional Quality
and private TEIs. university and non- time, on-site and Standards (IQAs) to apply
university institutions. online programs. in its/their evaluations.
5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12
The IAA(s) or QAA(s) The IAA(s) or QAA(s) The IAA(s) or QAA(s) There are practical
has/have developed provides incentives for involve TEI consequences for
Program Quality TEIs to create stakeholders, programs/TEIs that do not
Standards (PQAs) to Management including students, as meet the
apply in its/their Information Systems part of their activities. evaluation/accreditation
evaluations. (MIS) through IQAs or standards.
PQAs.
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BANGLADESH ۣ TERTIARY EDUCATION SABER COUNTRY REPORT |2017
5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16
There is at least one The TEMIS collects The TEMIS collects The TEMIS collects data
national or regional data on student data on tuition levels, on students' academic
TEMIS in operation. enrollment, financial aid, grants, readiness.
retention/dropout scholarships, and
rates, graduation student loans.
rates, and student
transfer rates.
5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20
The TEMIS collects The TEMIS collects The TEMIS collects The TEMIS collects data
data on graduated data on institutional data on institutional on faculty related
outcomes. contributions to local RDI indicators. indicators.
economic, social or
cultural development.
5.21
The TEMIS is used
extensively for
system evaluation
and reform.
6. Relevance for Social and Economic Needs
6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4
There is a system There is a system-wide There are financial There are programs
wide or sector- or sector-specific incentives to foster and/or incentives to
specific policy policy mandate to RDI activity across enhance the capacity of
mandate to strengthen RDI activity different tertiary sub- local and regional actors
strengthen the role of in tertiary education. systems. to contribute to RDI
tertiary education to activities in tertiary
enhance economic institutions.
development.
6.5 6.6
There is a system- There is a system-wide
wide policy mandate policy mandate or
or decree to decree to strengthen
strengthen the role of the role of tertiary
tertiary education in education in fostering
fostering social and environmental
cultural development. protection and
sustainability.
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www.worldbank.org/education/saber
The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER)
initiative collects data on the policies and institutions of education
systems around the world and benchmarks them against practices
associated with student learning. SABER aims to give all parties
with a stake in educational results—from students, administrators,
teachers, and parents to policymakers and business people—an
accessible, detailed, objective snapshot of how well the policies of
their country's education system are oriented toward ensuring that
all children and youth learn.
This report focuses specifically on policies in the Tertiary
Education sector. It analyzes tertiary education on six policy
dimensions: (1) the strength of the country’s vision, (2) the
regulatory environment, (3) governance of the sector, (4) the use
of innovative financing arrangements, (5) quality assurance, and
(6) relevance to the labor market and socio-economic
development of the country.
This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in
this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World
Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown
on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement
or acceptance of such boundaries.
SYSTEMS APPROACH FOR BETTER EDUCATION RESULTS 31