Dhaka University fails to attract foreign students

Dhaka University, which was once called the Oxford of the East for its quality of education, is not having foreign students as expected, as the centennial of its founding approaches.

The university authorities often face criticism for failing to attract foreign students. Criticism is even harsher if the university is compared to the list of the best universities in the world. But the DU authorities say the number of foreign students does not affect the university ranking.

Lack of popularity in the international arena, absence of standard accommodation, political unrest on the campus, complex admission system and other limitations are the key hurdles to attracting overseas students, the authorities said.

Currently, the university has 49 foreign students studying in different departments and institutes, said Dhaka University's Professor of International Relations Imtiaz Ahmed.

However, the number is more than 8,000 in medical, dental and other colleges affiliated with the university, he said.

The foreign students get admitted to Dhaka University through Sir PJ Hartog International Hall. At present, the hall houses 129 foreign students, according to the annual report for 2017-18.

Among them, 15 are studying in different departments and institutes of the university and the rest of them are students of affiliated institutions. There are 53 teachers from different departments residing in the hall.

The university fails to attract foreign students due to the lack of proper advertisement, said Prof Imtiaz.

“Our university does not follow the way the prominent universities advertise globally. People are unaware of the facts like the advantages available, the subjects, the degrees in Dhaka University as we lack in advertisement,” he said

The professor blamed ‘negative media coverage’ for the university’s failure to attract foreign students.

“Many people have the misconception that you need to know Bangla to study in Dhaka University. They’re unaware that many departments use English as a medium of teaching. They’re also unaware of the variety of food served for the international students. These have no publicity,” he said.

Another factor is that the foreign students are not provided with enough accommodation facilities, he said.

“Many foreign students find it most important to have good accommodation. At present, we’re unable to provide them ample space on the campus or halls and the living cost is quite high in Dhaka. It may be cheap for the Europeans but students coming from the neighbouring countries find it hard to bear the expenses. Therefore, they lose interest in studying at the DU.”

Prof Imtiaz also highlighted the lengthy admission process for foreign students.

“Our admission process for foreign students is quite long. This system should be changed. A ‘student visa’ should be enough for a student to apply for studying in the country,” he said.

Echoing Prof Imtiaz, DU Deputy Registrar Sheuli Afsar identified the lengthy admission process as the main hindrance to finding foreign students.

“A foreign student needs clearance from the home ministry to get admitted to Dhaka University. Then the education ministry sends clearance to the university after police investigation. Then a foreign student can be admitted to the university. Moreover, a student has to renew their visa every year. They need to go to the passport office. All these procedures make foreign students suffer.”

Afsar said, “Foreign students want modern dormitory, air-conditioned room which we can’t provide. Many of them look for scholarships, which we don’t have. Even then we try our best to convince a student to get admitted.”

“Foreign students face different problems because of inadequate information once they get admitted. It will be helpful for the foreign students to get regular counselling, as they can talk about their problems and the authority can help solve those,” said Pintu Kumar Saha, a student from Nepal pursuing Business Studies at the DU.

Vice-Chancellor Md Akhtaruzzaman acknowledged several limitations and said the university authorities are making efforts to remove all the problems.

“We’re working on the infrastructure, renovation and expansion of the university to overcome the difficulties,” he said.

“We’ve formed the Office of the International Affairs, which was just a desk before, to disseminate information about our strength and prospects to promote our university internationally.”

The Dhaka University authorities have already urged the government to provide financial assistance to resolve the issues.