Fakhrul Islam and Dr. Md. Abu Taher
In the book ‘The Universities’, author V.H.H Green praised the universities as one of the most significant creations of medieval world that helped laying the foundation for a scientific culture, to interpret laws and customs and facilitate public administration.

Many aims and objectives have been added with medieval era to cope with the present era. At present, universities are the changing media of social, economical, and cultural scenario. Main task of the ‘Modern Universities’ is to cultivate and generate knowledge with its dissemination aiming for welfare and development of human beings and the living creatures. A university is a place pursuing academic excellence. It is a place that is supposed to create new knowledge, store that knowledge and disseminate it to the field level. Among others, it ensures that it reflects and responds to the people living around it. Based on causal curiosity, a university rectifies the society to which it belongs to and to what direction it should move as it happens to be the primary producer of innovative knowledge. It is mainly through intellectual and moral leadership of the institutions of higher education that a tradition-bound and stagnant society is transformed into a modern and progressive community.

As we all know, the father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman recognized the importance of quality higher education towards building knowledge-based economy. Accordingly, the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh, as an apex and statutory body in the field of higher education and research was established by the President’s Order (P.O.) No. 10 of 15 February 1973. With time the higher education sector in Bangladesh has expanded significantly. The multiplicative functions of UGC include but not limited to allocation of funds to universities, facilitate the development of higher educational system with main purpose of upgrading the qualities of teaching-learning at the tertiary level, encourage cutting-edge innovative research and development and improve governance issues at the universities. Also, UGC is responsible for formulating higher education policy and quality assurance to meet the international standards and advise the government accordingly.

The major responsibilities entrusted with the UGC are to receive funds from the government and allocate and disburse out of such funds and grants to the universities for their maintenance and development and to determine the financial needs of the universities. The UGC of Bangladesh, in principle, is modeled after the higher education management authority in the United Kingdom. The underlying fact of this model dictates the government to deal with the UGC for the management of the universities.

The Bangladesh Gazette Extra (1998) made the UGC accountable for the utilization of funds by the government to the universities. The same Gazette also empowered UGC to oversee the recruitment of new faculty and teaching positions in the universities.

As per the above Gazette, during the period of budget allocation, UGC usually send a set of guidelines to all public universities. On behalf of the government, universities are also highly requested to follow and maintain mandatory obligations. But it is observed that a good number of universities violate financial rules and regulations. It is also a matter of great regret that universities are reluctant not to implement UGC’s guidelines. In this connection, few examples are mentioned here:The Annual Report (2019) of the University Grants Commission depicts that a whopping 72% of the budget money spent for salary and allowances. The rest 16% has been expended in emergency and maintenance cost and only 12% has been expended in education related programs. For research work, in the financial year (FY) 2020-21, as an individual head only BDT 64.58 crore is allocated for 46 public universities. But in the financial year 2021-2022, BDT 118.50 lac has been allocated for fundamental, applied and need based research which will eventually accelerate to materialize the vision of the Father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. It is estimated that in the fiscal year 2020-2021, teachers’ salary, allowance, electricity, gas, water transport expenses may increase. Although government has allocated BDT 4290 crore, nevertheless this allocated money is inadequate because higher education is now more expensive. Over and above that university authority is disinterested in the state of economical expenses. Universities have been transformed as an “Exchange” agent. Terms and conditions of appointment, promotion or upgradation as per the guideline has not been followed by the university authorities. Even the university authorities are creating new posts violating the guidelines of UGC. Consequently, huge budget deficiency and disruption of finance is seen.

The liberal pension scheme has put enormous stress on the allocated budget. A significant portion of the budget is spent to provide allowances, encashment of earned leave and unforeseen expenditure. Furthermore, the six oldest universities of the country are making demands more budget allocation to provide pension money among the teachers, officers and staff.

The consumption of electricity is increasing continuously in the universities. From BDT 58.82 crore in FY 2019-21 the cost jumped to BDT 86.50 crore in FY 2020-21. Still this trend is upward moving. The primary causes are that per unit electricity cost rate is high, misuse of electricity in the residential halls and due outstanding payment of electric bills are still rampant. Consequently, an abnormal pressure is created on budget due to this subsidy of electricity and other utilities in the public universities. Water and gas expenditure have been increased. Invaluable natural gas is burning unnecessarily in the university kitchens day and night long. University authorities need to pay proper attention in these things.

Every university has a transport facility to carry teachers, officers and staff for commuting to the university. Transport expenditure is on the rise year on year basis. If there is no equilibrium between income and expenditure, then a huge deficiency that requires filing of more budget in this sector.

Every year the expenditure of University School and Colleges is increasing which are situated within the university campus. Positive initiatives should be taken up to find out resources to generate their own income. With this end in view, the UGC has prepared few documents in the recent days, such as: the uniform accounts manual and financial guidelines, bringing uniformity in the recruitment, and the launching of automated software to ensure transparency and accountability in financial management of the public universities.

In Bangladesh, public universities are run by the state. That is why these universities are reluctant to generate revenue from own resources. In Bangladesh only BDT 20 is charged as monthly tuition fee from each student. To collect this fee additional BDT 40 need to be invested to some extent. Nowhere in the world education is so cheap than in Bangladesh. In many countries of the world, universities collect money from different sources by their own endeavors. They are less dependent on government allocation. For example, University of Warwick, University of Keel, England and Macquarie University, Queensland University, Australia where university authority earns 80% above revenue from their own resources by adopting various endeavors. Renowned universities of the world generate revenue by establishing hotel, hospital, restaurant, IT and Innovation hub, auditorium, fishery project, agricultural project in the campus area. Besides this, they deposit a portion of earned money by doing research and consultancy. Alumni association plays a vital and progressive role in this regard. In SAARC countries, even Pakistani universities also earns about 50% their revenue from own resources. There are many glaring evidence in today’s world.

In Bangladesh, internal resources should be mobilized so that public universities can retain autonomy in truest sense. Students’ tuition fee should be increased but it should be ensured that poor and meritorious student can acquire knowledge through poor fund. But universities should be frugal on the point of expenses. A culture of fairness and accountability should be established in the public universities. Simultaneously, there is a need to create a congenial environment for good governance, higher education and research.

The University Ordinance of 1973 has given enormous academic autonomy to the universities. It does not allow financial autonomy of the universities. On the whole, universities are run by the 100% government donation and grants. In the present era, the autonomy of university is a great question mark. The University Ordinance of 1973 was promulgated to control financial misappropriation, low standard of education, political interference, lack of teachers’ accountability, terrorism, session jam, delay to publish the result of examination etc. This was manifested to attain academic freedom and democratic management of the university affairs. Enormous power is entrusted to the university syndicate. The university authority sometime misuses this power. As a result, financial management and educational activities are disrupted.In conclusion, it is evident that the system, mission, and the goal of higher education have changed all over the world. In order to keep pace with the changing world, the country also need to reshape and reorganize its entire gamut of administration and management system of higher education. The need of hour is quantitative expansion without undermining quality of higher education, maximum utilization of existing resources and directional change. Like other institutions in a democratic society, universities should take all necessary measures for changing mobilization of their own resources towards the achievement of the goals for which universities are established.

Fakhrul Islam, PhD and Professor
Dr. Md. Abu Taher, PhD are the contributing writer of this article.
The writers are researchers and now work as Director and Member respectively at the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh.