'Government has identified key problems after 180-day honeymoon period’

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milan has said the government has completed its first 180 days in office, which he described as a “honeymoon period” during which it identified several key challenges facing the country’s education sector.

“We have completed the government’s 180-day honeymoon period. During this time, we identified various problems,” Milan said while speaking at the QS Bangladesh Forum 2026 on Monday (August 17).

Questioning the methodology and scope of the QS university rankings, the education minister said Bangladesh and other South Asian countries should receive greater consideration in global university assessments.

“Why does QS ranking focus only on universities in developed countries? Why not among SAARC countries? If that were done, we would also be able to move forward,” he said.

Milan also questioned why private universities in Bangladesh have yet to introduce PhD programmes on a broader scale.

“Why have you not been able to introduce PhD degrees at private universities all these years? Have you remained silent for the past 20 years?” he asked.

The minister also highlighted what he described as Bangladesh’s failure to identify and retain researchers whose expertise is being used to support development in other countries.

“Many researchers in our universities devote their knowledge to the development of other countries. But we cannot identify them. That is our failure,” he said, adding that the government is now focusing on the issue.