Mohammad Abu Zafar, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the UAE, interacts with the representatives of one of participating universities at the education forum.

A number of Bangladeshi universities are seeking permission from authorities to start operation in the UAE to tap the lucrative tertiary education market in the Gulf region, officials said at the two-day Bangladesh Education Forum 2023 held in Dubai.

The 2-day education forum was participated by hundreds of students and parents held at Crowne Plaza, Deira, Dubai.

During the education form, over 30 universities and academic institutes present to interact with community students and fulfill their queries regarding their options of obtaining higher education back home.

More than 25,000 Non-Resident Bangladeshi (NRB) students currently study in different private schools and universities in the UAE. Bangladeshi universities, medical colleges and specialised institutions offers high-quality and cost-effective education to international students who could avail university curriculum with as low as $500 per semester, or $6,000 – $8,000 for a four-year Bachelors (Honours) Programme and a five-year MBBS degree for as low as $35,000 to $40,000 – one of the cheapest accredited MBBS degree currently available in the world.

In his opening remarks, Mohammad Abu Zafar, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the UAE said “Bangladesh Government has given a high priority to education sector and the annual budget allocation in this sector has been increasing every year. That is why, we are seeing marked improvement in our education system that is producing good quality human assets.”

“However, we need to improve the quality of our education more and make our students more competitive so that they can strengthen their contribution to all sectors and spheres of the society. It is heartening to see that many Bangladeshi educational institutions are attracting foreign students as well and I hope they can attract students from the GCC countries where millions of students seek enrolment in higher studies.”

Dr Biswajit Chanda, member of the Bangladesh University Grants Commission, praised the private universities’ role in expanding the education sector.

“We are experiencing a greater level of compliance and improvement in their services in grooming our students, as we remain vigilant to ensure the highest quality delivered as per the vision of our government led by Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is keen to lift the country to transform it as a Developed and Smart Nation by 2041.” “We would like to see more international forum and focussed discussions so that we could work with them closely and help them grow.”

Many Bangladeshi universities currently have secured partnerships with reputed universities in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia. They are now seeking partnerships with universities in the UAE.

Ishtiaque Abedin, Chairman of American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) said, “We are also keen to expand our partnership network with the UAE-based universities and authorities to seek greater collaboration in innovation, scientific development, technology, in addition to student and faculty exchange programmes.”

Bangladesh Education Forum was launched in 2022 with an objective to bring Bangladeshi universities and medical colleges closer to UAE-based high school students, parents, academicians and education consultants.