Building on the Local: The Approach of BRAC University – A University Established by the NGO 'Building Resources Across Communities' (BRAC)

Macaulay's Minutes on Indian Education , written in 1835, can be seen as the founding document of the ‘modern' and, significantly, secular educational tradition in South Asia . He emphasizes using English as the language for education. This emphasis was guided by strong colonial considerations.

However, even as the new English educational system was being put into place, there was much debate on how this was to be organized. The native elite asked for scientific education in English, arguing that the ‘wisdom' and progress of the West lay in the development of science and technology, but that language and literature could easily be taught in Bengali.

Hence, as colonial education was introduced in this bifurcated arena, both sides debated the function and purpose of education, as well as what constituted progress and modernization.

Upon gaining independence in 1971, Bangladesh based itself on the notion of linguistic nationalism. It traced the origins of its independence struggle to the language movement of 1952. The establishment of Bengali as its only official language seemed to be the raison d'être of the nation. With this in mind, Bengali was established as the language of education soon after independence in 1972. The English language remained in a somewhat anomalous position. Higher education and research necessarily had to be conducted in English, as there were no books or tradition of tertiary education in Bengali. The result was that students coming into the tertiary level lacked language skills and were therefore ill-equipped to study. This was felt especially in science and technology, but also in the arts and humanities. Another aspect became noticeable soon after independence: with the proliferation of primary and secondary education, larger numbers of students found themselves knocking at the doors of a very limited number of tertiary and technical educational institutions. This demand led to a proliferation of ill-equipped ‘colleges', which in reality churned out general—that is, unspecialized—BA degrees.

Only since the 1990s has the state started opening up new avenues for the development of tertiary education. Foreign aid for education had been concentrated in the primary sector. Given the lack of resources, both within and outside the country, the government of Bangladesh enacted the Private Universities Act in 1991, thus paving the way for the establishment of new universities. These universities, set up by private funds, were largely market-driven, typically offering courses in business administration and computer science. While certainly a change from the largely humanities-based offering of the colleges, these courses could still be seen as skills development rather than tertiary education.

BRAC University was established in April 2001 by BRAC - Building Resources Across Communities (formerly known as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee). From a modest beginning thirty-five years ago, BRAC has today grown into one of the largest non-government development organisations in the world. In recent years BRAC has extended its development activities to Afghanistan , Sri Lanka and Africa .

BRAC University was established against this backdrop. In its initial consultative process, led by Professor David Fraser —former president of Swarthmore College in the United States — and Dr Riaz Khan —from BRAC—, BRAC University opted to follow the liberal arts tradition of US universities and colleges.

This decision posed certain challenges for the proposed university. First, as mentioned above, liberal arts and the humanities had traditionally become the purview of a ‘cheap' education, where large numbers of Bengali students followed a course of studies leading to a BA at a college. Even at the universities, such as Dhaka and Chittagong , arts departments were characterized by huge classes and rudimentary teaching aids. Private universities honed in on the market needs of the country, concentrating on business and computers as their mainstay. BRAC decided to address these demands within a liberal arts framework.

A second consideration was how to incorporate BRAC's experience with development and poverty alleviation into the university curriculum . In the field of knowledge production , BRAC itself was seen as a huge laboratory from which students could learn and a new knowledge base could be created.

The third was deciding on a language of instruction. English was ultimately chosen, making BRAC University a new global hub for education. However, this put a large group of students at a disadvantage. Given the vision that BRAC was pursuing, these disadvantaged students were the very people the university would have liked to incorporate into its student body.

Two decades have now passed since private universities were introduced in Bangladesh . We have had a period of time in which to think and plan for the higher learning needs of the 21st century. The proliferation of private universities has also had an effect on public universities, which have been revising and reviewing their curricula and opening new departments.

BRAC University 's experience is unique among Bangladesh 's private universities. Its first challenge was and remains the introduction of a liberal arts university in Bangladesh . Students enter university education with the idea that they are going to specialize in a particular area, such as architecture. Being made to read philosophy or take history courses is therefore a real challenge. The establishment of a broad-based liberal education at the tertiary level is difficult, but BRAC University is committed to this concept and working to establish it.

The second challenge involves students' language skills. Teaching and learning takes place in English, which can prove both difficult and alienating to students whose language of instruction has been Bengali up to this level. Making learning English student-friendly and drawing students into thinking and debating in the language requires special attention and concentration. However, the University feels that, given the educational heritage and practices in its region, education in English is necessary. Both globally and regionally, English proficiency is necessary for the job market and for forging new knowledge.

The University is also facing the usual practical difficulties, such as building up a library. Physical facilities are limited in this high-rise urban university. Students, staff and lecturers need a proper campus area and building. However, in some ways BRAC University is very well equipped. Students have ready access to computers and on-line journal facilities.

2008; ongoing