The Education System of Bangladesh: A Barrier to Tourism Industries

Recently, a new category has been established in the sector of tourism. This sector of tourism caters to students who want to pursue their higher education outside their home country. The students are considered educational tourists and this category of tourism has been aptly named as Educational Tourism- a type of tourism where learning is the primary object of any traveler. Educational tourism can be defined as an amalgamation of formal and informal learning which combines both tourism and education. Since 1990, the impacts of education on the tourism industry have been researched widely. Travel satisfies the desire to learn about the culture and the customs of a place, and thus it plays a significant role in the entire experience of educational tourism. 

The geographical location of Bangladesh is rich with history. Bangladesh lies on the bank of the Bay of Bengal landlocked by India and Myanmar.. Bangladesh can claim to be a historic country as it used to be known as Gangaridai which means Nation on the River Ganges. According to information available from Wikipedia, Gangaridai was an ancient state founded around 300 BC situated right where the Bengal region (Bangladesh and West Bengal) lies today. Bangladesh has a history that goes back around 5,000 years.  In the early civilisation era, it was an international centre of trade and commerce and the country has enough tangible evidence to demonstrate this history through its centres of tourism attractions. 

The rich history of Bangladesh includes ancient kingdoms, such as Gangaridai, which was so familiar to the Greeks that Alexander the Great sought to conquer it. The Romans traded through the historic Silk Road, an ancient trade route to China, and wrote about it extensively. Then there are other ancient cities in Bangladesh, such as Bikrampur, Barisal, Wari-Bateshwar, Egarasindhur, Mahasthangarh, and Bhitargarh; and ancient temples, mosques, and over 120 palaces, are all there to be visited and explored. 

At present, despite some investment in putting Bangladesh on the international tourism map, there has been significant failure to make any real impression. The first priority for any marketing and communications activity is to rectify this failure. Marketing should start at the core level and target educational institutions. Education policies should be improved and be more immigrant friendly. Despite the importance of academic tourism growing over the past few decades around the world, it has not been widely analysed in Bangladesh yet. However, to date, few research projects have established links between education and travel in the host country despite the international students’ obvious requirement to travel to their chosen study destination (Glover, 2011). The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) supports the consideration of international students as tourists establishing that a visitor is a traveler taking a trip to a main destination outside his/her usual environment for less than a year and for any purpose (business, leisure or other personal purpose) other than to be employed by a resident entity in the country or place visited (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, 2010). The organization also includes education and training as one of the categories inside the classification of tourism trips for students taking short-term courses (less than one year). 

Bangladesh has several public and private universities in almost every heritage and historical cities. A good number of public and private medical colleges are also there in almost all the districts which are close to the tourist destinations having heritage importance. According to the University Grants Commission (UGC), in the 50 public universities in Bangladesh, in total, there are 804 international students enrolled. On the other hand, among the 103 private universities, a total of 1,386 international students are enrolled. Currently, private universities recruit students directly through scholarships, Memorandum of Understanding between partner universities, and direct applications from foreign students. After getting a student visa, the university authority helps renew the student visa every year. According to private university authorities, the approval process is complex and discouraging international students to consider Bangladesh. The new steps are expected to stretch the whole admission process, dampening the rising flow of foreign students, and having an adverse impact on foreign cash flow as well. Universities can play an important role by offering good funding followed by an education friendly environment to attract more international students around the globe. 

By engaging in educational tourism, universities also pursue their civic mission for the benefit of the local area. A civic university integrates teaching, research, and engagement with the outside world, according to Goddard et al. A civic university has a sense of purpose and place, viewing the territory as a “living laboratory” where it has cultural and societal impact. For this reason, it actively engages and collaborates with public and private local stakeholders, and with other educational and research institutions and departments at a local and international level. It takes a holistic approach and shows willingness to invest in order to achieve societal goals, and operates with transparency and accountability by applying innovative methodologies to be more effective. Higher education institutions play a pivotal role in innovation for society and for sustainable development by contributing to the generation of knowledge that is trans-disciplinary and practice-based. According to Sabrina Tomasi, to be sustainable, the development of educational tourism practices in a destination, where the university always plays a coordinating role, should be the result of the combination of the 3E principles-

• Environmental factors: This provides tourists knowledge-based information and educates them to respect the local environment. Sustainable actions promote the preservation of biodiversity and enhance attention to the cultural heritage. 

• Engagement: Active participation of tourists is central to making them feel fully immersed in the context and in cultivating their special interests. 

• Exploration: This helps tourists authentically experience the place by contributing to in-situ learning. 

The university’s role in educational tourism is therefore closely linked with its regional role, and it is not limited to the education of foreign students- the experience of the place is, in fact, embedded into the educational journey. The university needs to work with the place to co-create meaningful learning experiences. At the same time, although being a secondary outcome of education, it actually contributes to create different touristic offers and packages, both directly (through co-creation with local players) and indirectly (by bringing travelling students to the region). 

The benefits of educational tourism to host countries have economic and social relevance. As mentioned above, the presence of study-abroad programs provides more opportunities for local entrepreneurs, economic benefits for small businesses, and employment opportunities for local people. The level of interaction with international students may influence the perception of residents. To make local development, academic contribution is a must. Policymakers should work with UGC to optimise and expand their educational exchange programmes and make them more attractive to students. International educational tourism programmess could work in collaboration with university information centres in other countries to promote their offers.

Joy Banik, Research Intern at CGS. 

Views in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect CGS policy.