Postgraduate university to be established in the country: Education Minister

Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon, Minister for Education and Primary and Mass Education, has said an initiative will be taken to establish a postgraduate university in the country on the model of the developed world to advance higher education, research and innovation.

He made the remarks while delivering the speech as the chief guest at the concluding ceremony of the two-day dialogue of vice-chancellors at BRAC CDM in Savar on Saturday (August 22). The dialogue was held under the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) project being implemented by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh.

The education minister said although many universities have been established in the country under public and private initiatives, no postgraduate university has been set up so far. Yet such universities exist in neighbouring countries and various countries of the world where world-class research is being conducted.

He said many students of the country get admitted to postgraduate universities abroad for higher degrees. To encourage research and innovation, the prime minister has expressed interest in establishing a postgraduate university in Bangladesh as well. The government will provide all necessary cooperation to build the new university on the model of the developed world.

Stating that the government is giving the highest priority to education for human resource development, Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milan said the budget allocation for the education sector has been raised to 2 per cent of GDP. There is a plan to raise it to 3 per cent next year and gradually to 5 per cent.

He stressed regular updating of university curricula to raise higher education to international standards. In his view, curricula must be prepared considering the demand of the job market and future employment opportunities. Similarly, employment and future demand must be given importance while opening new departments.

The education minister said the present government has not given approval to any new private university. However, necessary initiatives have been directed to the UGC regarding the introduction of PhD programmes in quality private universities.

Describing the current allocation in the research sector as inadequate, he said plans are being taken to improve the research environment and infrastructure. The UGC will work to implement these plans at the university level.

Highlighting Bangladesh’s potential in the international education market, the education minister said a quality education and research environment must be created that can attract foreign students. Through this, Bangladesh can also strengthen its position in the international education market.

At the same time, he advised establishing a ‘research bank’ for research in universities and identifying the reasons for the low rate of admission of ‘O’ Level and ‘A’ Level passed students to universities.

In his presidential address, UGC Chairman Professor Dr Mamun Ahmed said the UGC is working to raise the country’s higher education to international standards in line with the priority sectors of the government. A draft of a five-year strategy paper has been prepared identifying various challenges of higher education. It will be finalised on the basis of stakeholders’ opinions.

He said producing graduates equipped with knowledge and skills suitable for national and international labour markets is one of the main goals of higher education. For this, along with modernisation of curricula, students’ skills in communication, problem-solving, teamwork and leadership must be enhanced. At the same time, they must be developed as citizens with human values, ethics and social responsibility.

The UGC chairman also said an initiative will be taken to introduce compulsory internship to familiarise students with the practical work environment of industrial and commercial establishments. Arrangement will also be made to provide necessary financial assistance to students during the internship.

On the second day of the dialogue, four sessions were held on curriculum reform, student support and employability, financial and procurement management, the role of the HEAT project in the transformation of higher education, and the strategic plan for higher education.