Science based technology education
IN the new semester that started in early July 2009, I have been given the responsibility of teaching communication engineering and data communications to the students of B.Sc. engineering in Computer Science and Engineering Department in a private university in Dhaka. The interesting thing is that the students are employed in private firms or government, semi-government or non-government organisations (NGOs). They have completed their four years diploma courses in relevant subjects from private or government polytechnic institutes. Their classes, both theoretical and practical, start from 6 pm.
I am also responsible for teaching computing to the students of MBA, who hold responsible positions in government and non-government offices. Some of them work very hard in factories or places where the environment or financial remunerations are not attractive. Many of them travel a long way by bus from their work places and they seem very tired when they enter the classroom.
As a senior professor with academic and industrial experience at home and abroad, I understand their psychology and their problems. Some are so tired that it is difficult to draw their attention to the topics I lecture on. This situation reminds me of conditions thirty years ago when I was abroad, working in an electronic industry and attending classes in the evening. In those days technology was not that developed.
Though the students work hard and spend a big part of their earnings for the university degree, they are still very happy because they have the scope to get higher education. Just two decades ago there was no chance of higher education for diploma holders from the polytechnic institutes in Bangladesh. They are more interested in a degree than in anything else. The reason is that a B.Sc. Engineering degree will enable them to get a better job or a promotion. The situation is the same for students of business administration.
It is a good sign that the rate of higher education in different disciplines is increasing day by day, but the universities do not have enough capacity to accommodate them all. More than half a million students are passing out every year from the general education, madrasa and technical education boards.
Everybody has the right to get education, including higher education. But, in practice, rural students are deprived of higher education. The reasons are very much related to distance, finance and time. Most universities are located in Dhaka city or some divisional towns, where the guardians from rural communities cannot afford the expenses for their kids. Being engaged in other activities, many interested students from rural communities cannot spare time for higher education.
In the present age, higher education is encouraged in most countries. Even in Thailand, 50% of the students are getting the scope for higher education, and the number is as high as 90% in Korea. What benefit will it bring for us if 100% students are given tertiary level education? The answer is -- the world is moving towards a complex and unknown direction. We observe change in almost each and every sector. Some changes are bringing welfare for the society but others are creating unlimited problems that are very difficult to solve through traditional or local processes. Intellectuals of the global society predict that only highly skilled and well-qualified scientists will be able to solve the global problems that are being created due to abnormal growth of technology. As such we need highly qualified and skilled manpower for solving the unwanted problems. Now we need to reach higher education, particularly science-based technology education, to everyone, even those living in rural or remote areas.
Technology has made possible things that were not possible even 100 years ago. We need to take an initiative, for which cooperation and assistance from the government is crucial. Developed countries have already taken the initiatives and recently African countries have been trying to implement the program. Two recent events, held in France at Unesco headquarter and Maastricht in Netherlands, have made things clear to the participants.
My participation at the Maastricht event gave me an immense opportunity to learn how to start the project of enabling all for higher education. The events also gave me opportunities for meeting world famous talents and experts who made the innovation effective for the whole world. The innovation is transforming the traditional university campus-based education to home-based education.
If the project is started in Bangladesh, there will be only one university for administrative purposes like admission and examinations. As a senior citizen and an academic, I believe this project will be highly effective for Bangladesh for various reasons. The respective ministry and the concerned authorities are therefore suggested and requested to look into the matter as soon as possible.
Prof. Lutfor Rahman is Founder VC of Science and Technology University in rural Bangladesh.
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