A government initiative to review Bangladesh’s private university laws has triggered a broader debate over the future of higher education governance, with private university leaders warning that some proposed changes to the Private University Act that was initiated by the past Awami League (AL) regime could undermine institutional autonomy, discourage innovation, and make it more difficult for universities to recruit internationally qualified faculty restricting the nation’s ability to produce globally competitive professional of the future.

The debate gained momentum following a recent stakeholder consultation convened by the present government to review the Private University Act and related regulations on May 5, 2026 at a program hosted by Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh (APUB) at the Dhaka Sheraton.

During the meeting, representatives from private universities, university associations, and education policymakers were invited to provide recommendations on potential reforms to the legal framework governing the country’s private higher education sector where the chief guest, Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon promised that the government will review the legal and regulatory framework for private universities in consultation with stakeholders, rather than taking top-down decisions.

The consultation comes at a critical moment. More than three decades after the establishment of Bangladesh’s first private universities, the sector now educates hundreds of thousands of students and has become a major contributor to the country’s supply of graduates in business, engineering, information technology, health sciences, and other professional disciplines.
Global international rating agencies such as QS, Times Higer Education etc. today publish every year exhaustive benchmark-focused data on all universities around world.

The private university system globally thus is moving to a self-regulating, full-disclosure model. UGC doesn’t have the capability or resources to match the research driven analytical approach of these institutions in gauging a private university’s performance and relative standing.

A Sector Built Without Public Investment
Over the past three decades, private investors, philanthropists, trustees, and educational entrepreneurs have invested billions of taka in developing university campuses, laboratories, libraries, research facilities, technology infrastructure, and student services across Bangladesh.

Unlike public universities, these institutions have been established almost entirely through private capital, tuition revenue, philanthropic contributions, and investments made by founders and Boards of Trustees.

Yet despite receiving virtually no direct government capital investment, private universities continue to face extensive regulatory oversight an attempt to control operations over matters ranging from academic programs and faculty recruitment to governance structures and leadership appointments by the education ministry in particular the UGC.

In effect some bureaucrats want private universities to be an extension of the public university system in the country creating retirement opportunities for ex-government and public university employees.

The Regulator and Player Problem
Critics argue that UGC increasingly functions not only as a regulator but also as an active participant in shaping how private universities operate.

They contend that the Commission’s influence now extends into academic program approvals, governance arrangements, leadership selection processes, faculty recruitment policies, and internal dispute resolution.

It can be argued that an effective regulator should function as an impartial referee that establishes standards, monitors compliance, evaluates outcomes, and protects students’ interests.

When the same institution becomes involved in operational decisions, the distinction between regulator and operator begins to disappear and opportunities for nepotism arise.

Some governance experts warn that concentrating extensive discretionary authority in a single regulatory body may increase the risk of regulatory failure, reduce transparency, and create opportunities for bureaucratic inefficiency or undue influence.

Do Proposed Faculty Recruitment Rules Disadvantage English-Medium Graduates?

Many of Bangladesh’s leading private universities conduct instruction entirely in English and follow internationally benchmarked curricula. Their ability to recruit faculty from diverse educational backgrounds-including graduates of Cambridge O Levels and A Levels, International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, American high schools, and foreign universities-has been one of the defining strengths of the sector.

Some of the proposed recruitment criteria however rely heavily on Bangladesh’s traditional SSC, HSC, and GPA framework, creating unintended barriers for candidates whose educational qualifications were earned through different academic systems.

Proposing such restrictions effectively limits our institutions’ ability to provide quality education to our students at par with India, Singapore, Sri Lanka and developed nations.

Critics warn that rigid academic requirements based on local GPA structures may disproportionately disadvantage internationally educated academics, even when they hold advanced degrees from globally respected universities and possess significant research and teaching experience.

Grade Inflation and the Question of Merit
The review process has also revived broader concerns regarding the use of examination grades as the primary measure of academic merit. A large section of students are receiving GPA 5s in HSC exams and subsequently at bachelors and master level degrees in Bangladesh.

The grade inflation which started with the last Awami government is being used by certain AL era-aligned government officials to place their own candidates at private universities as faculty members.

Critics argue that faculty recruitment systems should place greater emphasis on foreign degrees , English proficiency, research accomplishments, publications, innovation, teaching effectiveness, doctoral training, and professional achievements. Currently, English medium school student population is growing at the fastest rate.

Not to mention, GCSE O/A levels, and IB are being adopted by the English medium schools that have much higher standards than their antiquated Bengali medium local counterparts that are designed to fulfil the needs of politicians and bureaucrats discounting the opportunity potential of Bangladeshi students.

English Proficiency and Bangladesh’s Global Competitiveness
One may argue that the debate over English-medium graduates and internationally educated faculty extends far beyond university recruitment policies. In their view, it is fundamentally a question of Bangladesh’s future economic competitiveness.

Bangladesh’s economy is increasingly integrated with global markets. The country relies heavily on foreign exchange earnings generated by migrant workers, export-oriented industries, and a rapidly growing international freelancing sector.

Remittances sent home by millions of Bangladeshi workers abroad remain one of the country’s largest sources of foreign exchange earnings and play a critical role in supporting economic stability.

At the same time, Bangladesh has developed one of the world’s largest apparel export industries and is seeking to expand exports in pharmaceuticals, leather goods, information technology services, business process outsourcing, and other knowledge-intensive sectors.

Success in all of these sectors depends on one common factor: the ability of the workforce to communicate effectively in English and operate confidently in international business environments.

Policies which make it more difficult for universities to recruit English-speaking faculty or graduates educated in international systems may have unintended long-term consequences for workforce development.

Bangladesh’s competitors-including India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines-have invested heavily in English-language education and internationally oriented higher education systems.

These countries have leveraged language skills to attract foreign investment, expand service exports, grow outsourcing industries, and integrate more deeply into global value chains.

Critics argue that Bangladesh cannot afford to move in the opposite direction. They contend that universities should be encouraged to strengthen English-language instruction, recruit internationally qualified faculty, and expose students to global academic standards rather than create barriers for graduates of English-medium and international education systems.

They further note that Bangladesh possesses one of the world’s youngest populations and a rapidly growing community of freelancers, software developers, digital entrepreneurs, and remote workers. In many of these professions, English proficiency is not simply an advantage-it is a prerequisite for competing in international markets.

Our Prime Minister has already stated the country’s long-term ambition of becoming a higher-income, knowledge-based economy will depend not only on producing more graduates but also on producing graduates capable of working seamlessly across borders, industries, and cultures.

However, the education ministry seems to be heading in the opposite direction countering intent of the country’s PM.

Autonomy or Centralization?
At its core, the government’s review of the Private University Act has evolved into a larger conversation about the future of higher education in Bangladesh.

If Bangladesh wishes to build globally competitive universities capable of attracting international faculty, producing world-class research, fostering innovation, and responding rapidly to changing economic needs, the country must move toward a framework that empowers institutions while holding them accountable for results.

Private universities cannot be under the umbrella of public university staffed bodies trying to benefit personally by restricting development of these most valuable institutions of this country.

International rankings already show that private universities of Bangladesh already are outperforming their public counterparts.

More than three decades ago, former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia laid the foundation for Bangladesh’s private university sector by approving the country’s first private universities- IUBAT, NSU, and IUB.

Isn’t it now time to expand that vision and empower these institutions to become globally competitive centers of excellence?

(The author is a member of the Board of Trustees of Independent University, Bangladesh-IUB)