The State of Research in Bangladesh

Lately, the world university ranking systems, especially promoted by the private universities for attracting prospective students in Bangladesh, have brought attention to the state of research in local universities. The quality of higher education in the country is also under the microscope. Historically, most of our universities were focused on offering quality undergraduate degrees. Only few of them had reasonably strong graduate programmes. Most of the newer universities struggle to start graduate studies and end up having a second-tier programme to justify calling themselves a university instead of a college. So, the culture of research never really took off.

Evaluating faculty members for review, promotion and tenure is a challenging job that has evolved with time. In the early eighties, effective teaching was considered the principal task of a faculty member. Now, it is necessary but not sufficient. More emphasis is given on strong research and publication over excellence in teaching and services. The Times Higher Education ranking started in 2004 and The QS University Ranking started in 2011. It takes a long time (maybe 10-12 years) and coordinated, sustained efforts from all stakeholders to develop a healthy and active research culture.