Abstract
The purpose of this chapter is to explore the expansion of higher education through the growth of private universities in the context of Bangladesh. The study explores these processes through a thematic qualitative analysis of the Private University Acts and Ordinance formulated by successive governments since the 1990s, which have dictated the governance and development of the private university in Bangladesh. This chapter traces the shifts in the governance system in the private universities in Bangladesh over a period of nearly 25 years and argues that the government developed a ‘mix private-public’ control of governance system in the private universities drawing on New Public Management (NPM) in order to control vested interests and political influences. This chapter further argues that the involvement of the state formally in the governance structure of private universities provides a new model of power sharing which has the potential to ensure that private universities can provide public good and circumscribes how these universities’ vested interest groups use the private university as a tool for their private business interests.
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Notes
- 1.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is the Bangladesh chapter of the Berlin-based Transparency International. TIB, as a non-government organisation, operates independently with a mission to strengthen participatory social movement in order to combat corruption and to establish transparent system of governance, politics and business in Bangladesh. In doing so, it has undertaken different research and advocacy programmes for policy changes and institutional reformations in Bangladesh (for reference, see TIB, 2012).
- 2.
The University Grants Commission (UGC), which was established under the President’s Order (P.O.) No. 10 of 1973, is the apex statutory body of the universities in Bangladesh. The UGC plays the role into coordination between the government and the universities in Bangladesh. The key objectives of the UGC are to promote and coordinate university education, to ensure the government grants for the public universities, and to protect the autonomous character of the universities (for reference, see University Grants Commission, 2009).
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Kabir, A.H., Webb, S. (2018). Governance of Private Universities in Bangladesh: The Myth of Institutional Autonomy. In: Chowdhury, R., Sarkar, M., Mojumder, F., Roshid, M. (eds) Engaging in Educational Research. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 44. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0708-9_15
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