The Education Ministry suspended the order that directed all public and private universities to admit students based on their SSC and HSC grades yesterday, a day after the order was issued.
Sources in the ministry said the authority had postponed the directive in the face of severe criticism from various stakeholders. But no official of the ministry wanted to acknowledge the matter on record.
Confirming the suspension of the order, Nazrul Islam Khan, education secretary told the Dhaka Tribune: “We postponed the order as it had some linguistic mistakes. It seemed like we were directing the universities to follow the order, but we cannot do so as they are an autonomous body. We can only request them. We will take the next step after consulting all the stakeholders.”
He further claimed that the university section of the ministry issued the order without his knowledge.
However, Helal Uddin, additional secretary and the head of the university section of the ministry told the Dhaka Tribune: “We issued the order as per the directive of the higher authority and we also postponed it as they suggested.”
He however refused to make any comment on the “linguistic problem” as mentioned by Nazrul Islam Khan.
On Wednesday, the ministry issued a letter directing all the vice-chancellors of public and private universities to enrol students on the basis of their SSC and HSC results instead of the existing procedure of admission tests.
Signed by Fatema Jahan, senior assistant secretary of education ministry, the letter read: “The existing admission process of the public and private universities of Bangladesh is very expensive for the students and they also face a lot of hassle. If the admission process is done on the basis of the results of the SSC and the HSC examinations, the sessions will start promptly and the harassment of the parents will also be resolve. In this context, all public and private universities are requested, as per the directive, to take necessary steps to enrol students on the basis of SSC and HSC results instead of the ongoing process.”
The ministry also requested the authority of the universities to inform the ministry after implementing the order.
In condition of anonymity, sources of the ministry said the order was met with strong opposition from the stakeholders who allegedly were not consulted in this regard.
When contacted, Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University AAMS Arefin Siddiqui refused to comment as they were yet to receive any such letter.
Chairman of University Grant Commission AK Azad Chowdhury said they were not aware of any such decision until the report surfaced on the media.
In the meantime, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid could not be reached as his mobile phone was found switched off.
