Distinctive medium of instruction ideologies in public and private universities in Bangladesh

Abstract

ABSTRACT Fuelled by nationalism, public universities in Bangladesh adopted Bangla as their MOI. In contrast, considering the role of English in the processes of internationalization, globalization and economic benefit attached to English, private universities in Bangladesh have adopted English as their MOI. Through the exploration of lecturers’ MOI ideologies, the present study aims to discover these diverse trajectories in the adoption of MOI policies in public and private universities in Bangladesh. The study was conducted at two research sites in the district of Dhaka – a local public university (UPB) and a private university (UPR). Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews conducted with five social sciences lecturers from UPB and four social sciences lecturers from UPR. The findings suggest that MOI policies in public and private universities in Bangladesh are non-identical and individual language ideologies have played a vital role in the adaptation of such policies.