UGC in its annual report said that it wants the complete closure of evening courses and nepotism at universities while it is also against corruption in teaching and appointments to teachers at public universities.
A delegation of the University Grants Commission (UGC) led by its Chairman Prof Kazi Shahidullah submitted its “Annual Report 2021” with 17 recommendations to the President Abdul Hamid at the Bangabhaban on Thursday.
According to the report, the UGC wants to possess executive powers to take measures against irregularities in public and private universities.
Talking with Dhaka Tribune, several UGC staffers said that currently the commission can only carry out inquiries as all universities are regulated by their own structures.
They said that the UGC can send recommendations to the Ministry of Education (education) for actions but it is solely up to the ministry whether it will take action or not.
They also said that the vice chancellors of different universities are misusing power and are taking personal advantage.
Earlier, in an interview with this reporter, UGC Chairman Prof Dr Kazi Shahidullah said: “If the UGC is empowered then it will be able to take strong action to tackle different situations.”
“Currently, we do not have any power beyond running inquiries. There is no way for us to monitor whether recommendations sent by us to the ministry (education) are being considered or not,” he added.
UGC Member Prof Abu Taher said: “We recommended forming an ‘independent recruitment commission' so that all kinds of recruitment at universities take place in a transparent manner.”
He further said: “We also suggested forming an ‘audit standard, code of ethics and audit manual' so that the commission can conduct audits through its own team accurately.”
In the report, the commission suggested facilitating education loans under endowment funds for students from poor background so that they can complete their education. The amount they will later payback once they are in the job market, the recommendation added.
Other recommendations
The UGC also suggested necessary steps against a number of private universities for not holding meetings of academic, syndicate, financial and board of trustee regularly. Some of them did not appoint vice chancellors, pro-VCs and treasures. Many are even unwilling to submit their financial report to the commission.
There is no concrete policy for recruiting the VC or pro-VC in most public universities. As per the commission's suggestions, universities should formulate policies in accordance with the UGC suggestions for such recruitment.
It has also urged the government to constitute a “national ranking agency” in light of international ranking policies.
Other recommendations of the commission include the formation of a central academic and infrastructures master plan for ensuring global ranking and catering to national demand, formulation of policies for the establishment of new universities and unified financial policy.
The UGC also suggested allocating a budget to set up a university training academy, central research laboratory, and a national research council to produce quality teachers.
It has suggested using blockchain technology to prevent certificate forgery.