University education free of cost
THOUSANDS of students are coming from the villages to the capital city to get their university degrees. Besides the public universities, there are 45 private universities with more than 200 campuses at different locations in Dhaka. The important point to note is that the private universities have no halls of residence for the students.
As such the students are forced to live in various places in the city, usually not in the best of conditions. Coming usually from not very well-off families it is difficult for the parents to afford the fees of these private universities.
Because of the large number of universities and other educational institutions in the residential areas, the inhabitants of the locality have to suffer for the chaos this creates. The traffic condition also suffers due to the abnormal growth of the educational institutes in the city.
There is an alternative system of education coming up which may solve to some extent these identified problems. For the hundreds of millions of people around the world, higher education is no more than a dream. They are constrained by various things to attend a conventional university.
These students can attend university in an alternative format studying from home and at minimal cost by using open-source technology, open course materials, e-learning methods and peer-to-peer teaching.
The activities of such a university is already underway throughout the world. It could be possible for students from Bangladesh to participate in such a teaching process too. Some 200 students from 52 countries have already registered, with a high school diploma and sufficient level of English as entry requirements. The only charge to students is about Taka 700 to 7000. There are no fixed campus locations. Anywhere convenient can be a classroom.
Campus based universities could not prove to be innovative because they have become a monopoly. Lectures should be available online to everyone anywhere for free. Course materials should be shared between universities, science labs are virtual, and digital textbooks are free.
All institutions should adapt to it. Many students are not satisfied with the old model that expects them to go to a lecture hall at a prescribed time and sit still while a professor gives a one-way talk.
So what is the learning model for the University? The high-quality, low-cost and global pedagogical model embraces the worldwide presence of the Internet and dropping technology costs to bring collegiate level studies to even the poorest and most remote places on earth.
With the support of the respected academics, humanitarians and other visionaries, the student body represents a new wave in global education. Comprised of students from around the world, the student body learns through peer-to-peer teaching with support of respected scholars. Within the online study communities, students share resources, exchange ideas, discuss weekly topics, submit assignments and take exams.
The curriculum includes lessons, classes, discussions, readings, assignments and exams like any university. The students receive maximum freedom in location and hours. Still, in order to push the students for success in the final exam there are several tools that ensure their commitment, and promote their knowledge.
The goal of the university should be to allow students to live their lives, make a living at whatever means are available in their environment, but they should be able to enjoy a supportive learning environment which will eventually lead them to a better life. When education becomes digital and open, the circle keeps getting wider in an emerging 'Digital Bangladesh'.
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