Substandard universities are producing degree-holding unemployed youth: President

President and Chancellor of Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has said that the number of degree-holding unemployed people in the country has risen alarmingly because universities were allowed to be established freely over the past 17 years without any quality checks.

Speaking as chief guest at IUB's 27th convocation in Purbachal, Dhaka, on Tuesday, he laid out this harsh reality. In his view, these substandard institutions merely hand out paper certificates and push the country's immensely promising young generation deep into frustration.

The President said many educational institutions have been turned into excessively profit-driven business enterprises. He observed that this trend of selling certificates in the name of higher education is destroying young people's futures.

He said the true expansion of higher education cannot be measured merely by the number of institutions. The real yardsticks of institutional success, he said, are the internal quality of education, a contemporary curriculum, skilled teachers, practical learning and an environment of decent employment.

The President described building an integrated national education structure, by removing the multiple streams, discrimination and gaps in opportunity that have long existed in the country's education system, as an urgent demand of the time.

At the same time, he stressed reaching world-class international standards while upholding the roots of the country's own history, language, literature and cultural heritage.

Calling for higher education to be directly linked to the real needs of the modern job market, the President said universities must follow job-oriented and technical curricula that turn young people into innovative entrepreneurs and job creators rather than mere job seekers.

Noting that the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and digital technology is transforming the conventional workplace, he said that to survive in the changing world of the future, problem-solving ability, independent thinking and a mindset of constantly learning new things matter more than certificates.

But he urged everyone to stay alert so that the growing use of technology does not in any way damage people's own intellect, conscience and human morality.

Addressing the graduates, the President said convocation is not merely a day of formally receiving a certificate, but a sacred pledge to dedicate the knowledge gained to the welfare of the individual, society and the state. He noted that even after formal studies end, the education of true human qualities continues for life.

He directed the students to remain steadfast always in the ideals of truth, justice and honesty. The convocation speaker, Emeritus Professor Dr Ainun Nishat of BRAC University, delivered a valuable address at the ceremony.

The convocation, attended by the Chairman of the University Grants Commission, members of IUB's Board of Trustees, the Vice-Chancellor, teachers, students and guardians, formally conferred bachelor's and master's degrees on a total of 2,067 students.