Governance of private universities in Bangladesh: The myth of institutional autonomy

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the expansion of higher education through the growth of private universities in the context of Bangladesh. The study explores these processes through a thematic qualitative analysis of the Private University Acts and Ordinance formulated by successive governments since the 1990s, which have dictated the governance and development of the private university in Bangladesh. This chapter traces the shifts in the governance system in the private universities in Bangladesh over a period of nearly 25 years and argues that the government developed a ‘mix private-public’ control of governance system in the private universities drawing on New Public Management (NPM) in order to control vested interests and political influences. This chapter further argues that the involvement of the state formally in the governance structure of private universities provides a new model of power sharing which has the potential to ensure that private universities can provide public good and circumscribes how these universities’ vested interest groups use the private university as a tool for their private business interests.