Dhaka Bureau: The University Grants Commission has finalized a new project to increase the participation and leadership capacity of women in higher education and the workplace, provide scholarships to women students, exchange teacher training, and increase opportunities for regional joint research. The concerned officials said that this project will be presented at the next Eknek meeting.
The cost of this project, named Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HIT), has been fixed at Rs. 4,30 crore. Out of this, government funding totals Tk 2,188 crore, of which 55 percent will be provided by the Bangladesh government; the remaining Tk 1,841 crore, or 45 percent, will be loaned by the World Bank and will have to be repaid with interest. The loan must be repaid within 30 years. The loan has to be repaid annually at a rate of 0.75% service charge and 1.25% interest.
The implementation period of the project is from January 2018 to June 2028. The project will employ more than two hundred people, most of whom will be recruited on deputation.
UGC officials said that one of the biggest challenges of Bangladesh’s economic development is creating job opportunities for educated people. About 39 percent of university graduates, postgraduate students, and 46 percent of college graduates who passed courses are not getting job opportunities. In addition, there are opportunities and possibilities for the development of women in the South Asian region. The inexplicable loss of education in the global COVID pandemic has become a major challenge for the economic development of Bangladesh. In order to tackle this challenge, the scheme is planned to increase the rate of higher-educated people, especially female students, along with job opportunities. An action plan has been adopted in this project with women working in all universities with the aim of increasing the capacity of women’s leadership, including the development of backward women in South Asia.
Maksudur Rahman Bhuiyan, director of the University Grants Commission, said that some amendments have come from the Planning Commission. After revising them, there is a plan to present it at the Eknek meeting next month.
The number of male and female students is almost equal in secondary, higher secondary, and public universities in the country. Women are far behind in employment. Besides, the number of women students at higher levels in private universities and government-run private colleges is also very low.
According to the University Grants Commission, there are 21 lakh, 61 thousand, 401 male students, i.e., 52 percent of the students studying in the 50 public universities of the country, and 19,702,092 female students, i.e., 48 percent. On the other hand, female students are 31 percent and male students are 69 percent in private universities. Out of 15,393 teachers in private universities, 5,000 are female teachers. According to Bangladesh education statistics, 34 percent of public and private masters-level students, 27 percent of degree-level students, and 23 percent of degree-level students are women. Only 23 percent of women teachers are working at the higher secondary level.
Officials involved in the formulation of the project say that the main three objectives of the proposed project are women’s education, women’s leadership, and women’s employment.
The Asian University of Yumen will spend Tk 251 crore (98 lakh) for the university. Of this, 235 crore will be spent on infrastructure development. An academic complex, a dormitory for women, and residential and non-residential buildings will be constructed at this university.
