Some Irrefutable questions
Masters in Bangladesh —After the most exhausting break of my student life, I will finally sit for my master’s exam on 31st January 2021. It was supposed to start in April 2019, but the pandemic postponed my master’s exam like it has been doing for many other things in human life throughout the world. Anyway, I am incredibly thankful to Allah that my fadeaway degree finally seems to be an achievable one.
The pandemic took eight and a half months from everyone’s life. But the pandemic doesn’t bother me a lot —by default scenario. However, the annoying thing, which profoundly bothers me the most is the fuzzy curriculum of the master’s degree in Bangladesh. In my opinion, it seems like an education system without having any vision or any particular goal of specialization. My questions are: what is the purpose of doing a masters degree? Isn’t it for gaining proficiency in a specific field? Isn’t it a student’s preparation period for a Ph.D. or a professional job? Then, why did my university force me to learn six different areas at a time?
Deep dive into the problem
I am a Biotechnology student, and I am studying at one of the top-ranked universities in my country. Yet, when I think deeply about my master’s curriculum, I feel nothing but despair. Let me tell you some details. I have six theory courses and one thesis work in my masters syllabus. The thesis is not too bad, though —I have enough opportunity to learn research and publish a quality research paper.
However, the problem lies in the theory course curriculum. Each theory course deserves a single master’s degree. Do you feel bizarre? I just hope you are not living in this system. How can you teach a graduate student six different biotechnology fields simultaneously when they need mastery in just one particular area?
Recently, I am trying to prepare myself for my master’s exam. But studying for my exam gives me nothing but irritation. The repetition of a single topic over flooded among the six theory subjects. Sometimes I have to study the same topic I studied in my undergraduate life. As a driven learner in the field of bioscience, this type of syllabus hurts me a lot. It gives me a feeling of nausea if it is not giving me a feeling of vomiting about my education system.
The university administration can give us better options and advanced topics so that our motivation remains at the same level. But it is what it is. We have to memorize what they throw at us. We cannot change anything about this damn system. Mundane postgraduate study curriculum, where ‘learning’ is a fadeaway dream rather than a reality, only gives us depression and weakens our creative portion of the brain.
Maybe due to this illogical system, thousands of students decided to take the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) exam. Who knows? In freshman year, each of my 39 classmates was highly enthusiastic about research. How do they lose their passion over time? Has our education system ever bothered about these questions? I don’t think so. I believe that false hope and irrelevant dream, which provides our education system, are the main culprit here.
Why can’t we learn from our neighbors?
A couple of weeks ago, I had an interesting discussion with my teacher —from another department of my university. He is now trying to pursue his Ph.D. in Australia. Back in 2017, he completed his master’s degree from Malaysia. During our discussion, I asked him what his experience was there? He replied with a fascinating tone. He said his master’s study was quite different from here.
‘In Malaysia, they admit a master’s student with a goal: to make himself/herself an expert in a particular field. I studied everything around the corporate business in my master’s degree. And I am happy to say that I have commendable knowledge and experience regarding this field.’
My Teacher
After discussing the Malaysian master’s curriculum with him and experiencing my master’s course curriculum here, my honest feeling regarding this degree is really nihilistic: A Master degree in Bangladesh is a pure bullshit thing to go for.
Fast forward
As I am on the verge of this postgraduate degree and have a thesis, Maybe, I will complete this degree (Masters in Bangladesh) with a high note. But, will that create any new experience in my brain? I don’t think so. In my country, quality is an overrated word. Everyone talks about it but believes in quantity. Your degree is crucial. How you complete that degree rarely looked closely. So, it is what it is. It will be my last dance on this false shore of education. However, If I have to recommend any person to do any post-graduation study, I tell him, please do it abroad. At least you can learn something. Something has meaning, not bullshit like my one.
