Request for Proposal (RFP)-For: Research on Transnational Education in Bangladesh

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2.1 According to the country’s 2022 census report, Bangladesh is home to 45.9 million young people aged 15 to 29, representing 28 per cent of the total population. In the past two decades, Bangladesh has witnessed significant gains in access to higher levels of education, with tertiary enrolments reaching 3.8 million in 2022, an 87 per cent increase compared to 10 years earlier. However the proportion of young people enrolling in tertiary education is still low by international standards, with the gross tertiary enrolment ratio standing at 18.7 per cent in 2022. In comparison the enrolment ratio at the upper secondary level was 47.7 per cent in the same year. <br /> 2.2 The gender parity index for educational access was achieved in primary and secondary level well before the 2015 MDG deadline. This is however not the case in tertiary level where in 2022, it is reported to be 0.82 per cent. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), the ratio of male and female students is almost equal among students who participated in the secondary and higher secondary examinations (HSC) in the last five years. However, just 36 per cent of students are female at the university level. The transition percentage from higher secondary to university level has experienced a noticeable decline, with a decrease of approximately 15%. <br />2.3 Demand for international education has grown in recent years. According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, at least 44,338 Bangladeshi students went abroad in 2021 to avail of higher education, up from 24,112 in 2015. According to UKVI, study visas granted to Bangladesh students excluding dependents in 2022 showed a sharp rise of 72% compared to the previous academic year 2021, taking the numbers to 15,277 from 8,266. According to HESA statistics, 30.5% of total HE students in the UK were female in 2019/20, which increased to 35% in 2020/21 and declined to 29.4% in 2021/22. <br />2.4 Unmet local demand for university places is one of the important drivers, alongside Bangladesh’s lack of highly-ranked institutions – no local universities are ranked in the global top 600 according to QS or Times Higher Education. However, this is not the only relevant factor – other drivers of growth include demand for international work experience or immigration opportunities. <br />2.5 Bangladesh government is keen to improve quality and education standards of their higher education institutions to bring it in line with the international benchmarks to equip young people with appropriate competence in its growing economy. It attained lower middle income country status in 2015 with a steady record on poverty reduction and development and aims to become an upper middle-income country by 2031. Growth in foreign investments in new age industries in Bangladesh require human resources that meet international standards, and this can be achieved through affordable international higher education opportunities in-country. <br />2.6 Bangladesh launched its first ever policy on transnational education in 2014, called the Cross Border Higher Education (CBHE) policy. It sets out guidance on establishing local campuses, study centres and approved learning partners for foreign institutes. Prior to this, local students were studying UK qualifications through different local centres of different awarding bodies such as ACCA, CIMA, Pearson’s Edexcel, University of London International Programmes, Heriot Watt University and online programmes of some institutions.<br />2.7 There are three universities in Bangladesh which were set up as international universities to specifically cater to domestic as well as international students. The first of them, Islamic University of Technology, started in 1978 to support students from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member states. Every year, students come from South Asia, Middle East and Africa. The other two are Asian University for Women and South Asia University. Recently Monash College from Australia has partnered with University College of Bangladesh to offer their foundation level courses. <br />2.8 The number of UK transnational education (TNE) students in Bangladesh is one of the lowest in South Asia. According to data from HESA there were only 2,160 students studying UK HE qualifications in the country in the 2021/22 academic year, of whom more than 80 per cent were studying on distance learning programmes. While this does represent an increase over 1,885 TNE students in 2019/20, there may be potential to greatly increase this number given the government’s aim to build capacity within country and rising numbers of Bangladeshi students wishing to acquire international qualifications. <br />2.9 The UK is committed to support and promote diversification and sustainable sector growth including transnational education (TNE), as well as capacity building with partners overseas as mentioned in the UK’s International Education Strategy 2023. Further, a recent study conducted by the British Council establishes that the TNE sector has both perceived and tangible impact in host countries. Impacts of TNE on host countries includes improved quality assurance processes, expanded research capacities, internationalised curriculum, and increased reputation of local providers as a direct impact of their TNE partnerships. TNE partnerships and opportunities can help local governments to scale up their higher education sector ambitions and the higher education institutions to provide quality education. <br />Against this backdrop and the interest in both countries to collaborate and pursue internationalisation of education, there is a need to better understand the TNE landscape and potential for long term engagement in this area. <br />