Mega plan needed to build labs, good academic atmosphere

Higher education in Bangladesh should be jobs-oriented so that students can get jobs of their choice in the country. Otherwise, they will go abroad for education and jobs.

The government must take up a mega plan to build laboratories and ensure a good academic atmosphere to boost research and produce skilled graduates. There should be a concerted effort to implement the project.

Most of the meritorious students leave the country for three reasons.

First, the public universities in the country are far away from research. Universities have been producing graduates for some mid and lower level local jobs only. Students with excellent academic records cannot get their desired jobs in the country.

Second, students from middle-class families cannot lead their life smoothly doing jobs in Bangladesh. But if they go abroad and get a job as per their eligibility, they can live their desired lifestyle.

Lastly, students with good academic records do not get the scope to do research and flourish their talent properly in Bangladesh as there is no standard laboratory here. So, they try to migrate to another country to develop themselves.

Corruption and mismanagement are dominant in every sector in the country including the health sector, development sector and educational institutions. I never blame the students who go abroad as the country cannot offer them opportunities.

So, there is no alternative to taking a long-term action plan to produce international-standard graduates in the country.

Prof Syed Manzoorul Islam is a faculty of Dhaka University