Foreign Students in Bangladesh
Number declines in public univs, increases in pvt univs
The number of foreign students in public universities is decreasing while such enrolment on private universities is increasing. According to the University Grants Commission, there were 210 foreign students in public universities in 2011, 359 in 2010 and 390 in 2009.
In private universities, there were 1651 foreign students in 2011, 1557 in 2010 and 1199 in 2009. In 2011, there were 34 public and 52 private universities in Bangladesh.
‘The decrease in the number of foreign students in public universities is said to have resulted from the decline in the quality of education,’ the UGC Annual Report 2011 on the state of education in universities said.
Without giving any figure, the report says that in the given time, the number of foreign students in private universities, however, increased.
‘An increased number of foreign students also helped the country to earn more foreign exchange,’ the report said.
According to the latest statistics, collected by the home ministry, there were, however, about 3,500 foreign students of December 31, 2012 in public and private universities, the Islamic University of Technology, an international university in Gazipur, another university called Asian University for Women in Chittagong, and medical colleges.
According to the UGC, 1,651 foreign students were enrolled on 28 private universities in 2011. Of them, 1,164 were enrolling for MBBS course at University of Science and Technology Chittagong.
One hundred and forty-three foreign students are enrolled on the International Islamic University in Chittagong, 65 on the American International University, 61 on Bangladesh University and 28 on Gana Biswabidyalaya.
Students from 35 countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Yemen, Ghana, Palestine, Canada, China, Jordan, the United States and Australia, came to study in Bangladeshi universities.
UGC member (private universities) Atful Hye Shibly said that Bangladesh’s image was brightened in the the outside world because of the increase in the number of foreign students enrolled in Bangladeshi universities.
UGC member (public universities) Mohammad Mohabbat Khan said, ‘Foreign students are not interested in enrolment on public universities as the standards of education have declined.’
‘No Bangladeshi university has been in the list of best-performing international ranks. Why will foreigners be interested in enrolling on Bangladeshi universities?’ he said.
-With New Age input
