Private university academics in Bangladesh face significant challenges such as lack of formal transparent service rules, job insecurity, uncompetitive pay, limited career growth (due to prioritising public university professors' "external resources" over internal full-time faculty), lack of service benefits, and arbitrary dismissals. Despite the growth of higher education in the private sector, these irregularities or bad practices prevalent in many universities – impacting the faculty’s morale, professional development, and overall quality of life – make them vulnerable.
Most of the academics working in private universities are considered to be deprived and overstressed because many universities do not have well-defined service rules – transparent and accessible. Not a single private university has an academic union, leaving the faculty members vulnerable to unfair termination, substandard pay, delayed promotion, and exploitation. Teachers feel powerless, comparing their situation to mere non-government employees lacking academic freedom and fair treatment at workplaces.
Despite the Private University Act 2010 aiming for better governance and ensuring quality education, the authorities in many universities have failed to enforce standardised faculty welfare and create a secure, congenial environment where faculty members do not fear speaking out due to political influence and lack of legal recourse compared to labour law protections.
There are few universities, thought to be imparting quality education, which prefer hiring star professors from public universities and offer them lucrative pay packages. But their status, mostly on contract, is different from that of the full-time/in-house faculty. Many of the outsourced academics termed “bigwigs” stay here for 4/5 years and play the role of a mediator, hardly raising their voice about academic freedom. They just come and stay nonchalant and go to another university.
According to several media reports, we have recently come to know that the University Grants Commission (UGC) is trying hard to implement some better policies protecting the academics’ professional interests, but the regulatory body is encountering resistance from some quarters. And there is a lack of enforcement which has stalled the overall progress. Bureaucracy, to some extent, appears to be an impediment to the implementation of any good policy.
No doubt, implementing unified service rules is crucial for the professional dignity of private university teachers and the overall quality of higher education in Bangladesh. Many universities hire lecturers/assistant professors/associate professors on short, renewable contracts (e.g., one year/two years), creating constant uncertainty. Many of them lack proper statutes and fail to comply with the Private University Act 2010, leaving terms or conditions undefined and management practices unchecked.
Teachers (mostly insiders) often have no voice in making decisions, with pro-government bodies influencing outcomes. They are hardly considered to be the major stakeholder because they lack a strong collective platform (academic union) like public university teachers’ associations. In many universities, teachers can be dismissed without fair defence, as they fall under university rules (if there is any) rather than the Labour Act, limiting legal options. Such an intimidating environment always makes it risky for the faculty to express their views or dissenting opinions.
It has been observed over the years that the inability to form academic unions in private universities removes a collective bargaining voice, making them vulnerable to the authority’s arbitrary decisions. Many academics often face unfair treatment – sometimes being treated more like employees than faculty – with little job security or recourse.
Several human resources studies highlight a strong link between job insecurity with an unattractive or poor compensation package and lack of professional development, and higher teacher turnover directly affecting quality education. Nowadays, job insecurity and dissatisfaction at workplaces drive some teachers to leave academia, impacting consistency and quality in the higher education landscape.
Besides, some private universities do not adhere to government rules. They do not offer standardised pay scales and long-term contracts with admissible benefits. Uncompetitive or low salaries, inadequate training, and poor working conditions contribute to dissatisfaction among the academics, with stress levels being high. This instability, of course, hinders professional development and creates a challenging environment for the academics to foster critical thinking and maintain standards of education.
As for the service rules, it varies from university to university, often favouring the employers. There are very few universities complying with the service rules. There are also some universities defying the existing PU ACT 2010, which needs to be amended urgently. Many of them seem to be indifferent to service rules. This is why the UGC needs to work on it seriously and push the authorities to formulate service rules.
Even teachers (full-time lecturers/senior lecturers) in some universities get low salaries (below BDT 25,000 per month), though they are overburdened with course/workloads. They are to teach five or six courses in a four-month semester. Sometimes they are to teach extra courses. Unfortunately, service benefits (like contributory provident fund (PF), gratuity/pension, etc.) are hardly given. Even some universities lack written human resource policies; HR practices are missing.
Appeals against unfair treatment often go to pro-government university bodies, creating a conflict of interest. Few cases were reported at Uttara University in the post-July uprising. We came to know that UGC formed an investigation committee looking into this matter. In fact, lack of good governance and lack of job security affect teacher motivation, impacting the quality of education at universities.
The lack of formal representation for private university teachers in Bangladesh is a significant systemic issue affecting their professional lives and the quality of education. Without unions, academics cannot effectively challenge unfair practices, unlike their public university counterparts. Besides, lack of job security demoralises the faculty, hindering long-term career development in academia.
Now it is time for the UGC to formulate a strong unified policy for all private universities and enforce mandatory service rules so that academics can feel mentally secure and provide students with quality education. In order to maintain good governance and ensure academic freedom in universities, an independent Higher Education Commission should be formed immediately. Before that, the Private University Act 2010 should be amended urgently. And, as one of the major stakeholders, the academic voices must be heard.
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The writer is an Associate Professor, Department of English, Stamford University Bangladesh.
Courtesy: Daily Sun
