In a recent webinar titled “History of the University of Dhaka and Higher Education in Bangladesh”, organised in connection with the celebration of 100 years of Dhaka University, the discussion on the importance of research came up in all the presentations. The necessity of generous funding for research to address the challenges of the 21st century was highlighted by every speaker. Mahfuz Anam, editor of The Daily Star, stressed that together with funding what was important was a research environment. We could not agree more. However, a research environment to us holds a different meaning than what we understood was implied by Mr Anam. The lack of freedom to do research on a subject of one’s choice is the main constraint in providing a conducive research environment. For us, a research environment for science holds a different meaning. Let us explain.
A university teacher has to take between 4-6 theory classes per week and at least 2-4 practical classes. Then there are round-the-year midterm exams, formative tests, the course finals together with grading the tests/exams. Also to keep pace with the dynamics of new developments, especially in the field of biological science, one has to be up-to-date with all the recent advances so that when teaching, the students are kept at par. At the end of the day, a serious researcher is left with little time to read, plan and conduct research. Let’s not cite examples of teachers who do not even take regular classes, let alone do research.
We understand that we cannot expect to have teaching assistants as most universities in the developed countries do. However, what we can at least hope for is a conducive research environment. To us, a research environment means having enabling policies in place that would allow us to carry out research without having to deal with all the hassles we face. Biological research in Bangladesh depends mostly on the import of perishable items, many of which are shipped on dry ice and have to be cleared from the airports almost immediately. For purchase of such chemicals, researchers have to rely on vendors who, through participation in the RFQ (request for quotation) or tender, get the purchase order.
In this regard, it may also be pointed out that instead of reimbursement of the VAT/Tax, Dhaka University, or all public universities for that matter, should be exempted from paying the same. Assessing the amount of the taxes requires a good number of days during which the perishable items sitting at the airport get their shelf life reduced drastically—that is, if they retain any activity at all. Individual departments should have a post for an MS holder who would coordinate the needs of the faculty regarding research material with the “Cell”. A post for communication and networking of the departments, the “Cell”, the government, news media and industry would help to coordinate and disseminate research findings.
Dhaka University should also have technically skilled, knowledgeable engineers, the real ones, who are capable of addressing the breakdowns of high-end equipment. At the end of most projects, there is usually no money for maintenance of equipment purchased during the project. We know of a few such expensive equipment that broke down after the project had ended and were never repaired. For a faculty member, it could seem like the end of the world to have a machine break down on you and to have an important experiment stop short. Uninterrupted supply of electricity is another prerequisite for a conducive research environment. Erratic flow of electric currents leads to breakdown of sensitive machines, especially those running round the clock like a -80°C freezer. When this happens, biological samples stored at such ultra-low temperatures have to be immediately transferred to another freezer (finding a suitable freezer is a big challenge because such freezers are not something that most departments of institutes have aplenty). If this happens overnight or during a few days of holidays at a stretch, many valuable samples are lost. A nightmare for researchers indeed.
For the creation of a suitable research environment, Dhaka University should also have PhD fellowships. We need our talented young minds to do their PhDs in our country, in our institutions. However, without a handsome fellowship, we will never be able to compete with North America, Europe or the Oceania in retaining our best. Most importantly, local PhDs with good publications from their PhD research should get preference when competing with foreign-degree holders for jobs in Bangladesh. Another aspect which has turned into a big concern for researchers is the large sum of money required to publish in good journals. Dhaka University can establish central funds for this purpose which they can pay through the “Cell”. Also, if institutional membership is established, then discounted publication fees can be expected for some journals.
Even teachers most passionate about research would want to be spared the headache of going through the intricacies of purchase, timely arrival of chemicals, smooth functioning of most equipment, etc. Added to this is the lack of appreciation of the PhDs they produce. This, on top of their load of teaching, writing research proposals, reports and manuscripts for publication in reputed journals, could be hugely taxing. These are some reasons why most teachers shy away from such a labour of love. But 100 years on, it is about time Dhaka University understood what it takes to conduct world-class research and formulated the right policies for creating an encouraging research environment.
Haseena Khan and Zeba Islam Seraj are scientists who teach at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Dhaka University.
