The Bangladeshi higher education quality assurance framework:a pathway for transformation

Bangladesh’s approach to devising a Quality Assurance Framework in higher education has eventuated in less than a decade. The framework provides criteria within which universities must operate and encompasses internal self-assessment review and monitoring besides external quality assurance, with the intrinsic goal of operationalising national protocols for a qualification framework. Based on the author’s reflection regarding a programme self-assessment exercise as part of internal quality assurance procedure, this paper aims to present an overview of Bangladesh’s higher education through contextualisation of the quality assurance initiatives. By analysing the scopes and limitations in the enhancement of quality, this article also proposes how a robust internal quality assurance framework is indispensable to hasten the process of programme accreditation. The article concludes with some recommendations for future revision of Bangladesh’s quality assurance system