Private Universities of Bangladesh: a Curse or a Blessing for the economy INTRODUCTION: Education is the basic need for socio-economic transformation and advancement of a country. It is the prime ingredient of human resource development. With over 143 million people, Bangladesh is the eighth largest in the world in population. It is also one of the most densely populated countries and endowed with limited natural resources.
The total size of the student population in Bangladesh is around 29 million which is about 20% of the total population (143 million). (http://www. ukti. gov. uk/export/countries/asiapacific/southasia/bangladesh/sectorbriefing/356900. html)Highest allocations for education in the national budgets during the nineties (90’s) show that the government has attached topmost priority to human resource development though education. The goal of 'Education for All' is being vigorously pursued in the country. (http://www. iscoverybangladesh. com/meetbangladesh/education. html) A recent addition to the higher education system in Bangladesh is the emergence of the private universities. Although private universities existed in other countries for long, the first private university in Bangladesh did not make its appearance till 1992. A law titled ‘Private University Act of Bangladesh’ was passed in the National Parliament in 1992 and the first private university of the country, the North South University, started functioning in the same year.
Today the country has 56 such private universities where approximately 1, 24,267 students pursue their studies in subjects ranging from business to fashion design and media studies. (http://www. belcampus. org/higher-education-in-the-21st-century-bangladesh. html) Objectives: http://www. international. ac. uk/resources/ROLE%20OF%20PRIVATE%20UNIVERSITIES%20IN%20HUMAN%20RESOURCE%20Development%20in%20Bangladesh. pdf
