Admission tests for the 2020-21 academic year of a science and technology university and 19 general universities are likely to be postponed as the government has extended the restrictions on public movement in a bid to stem Covid-19 transmission.
The admission test organizing committee has yet to fix a new date.
The tests were scheduled to be held in a cluster system on June 19, 26 and July 3 respectively for the humanities, commerce and science groups.
Till now, the authorities are determined to hold the admission tests in person instead of online.
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) Vice-Chancellor Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed said: “We have to reopen the university and then take the admission test. Otherwise, it is not possible to tackle so many examinees during the exam.”
“An announcement of a suspension of admission tests may come after the meeting on Friday to consider the country's coronavirus situation and ongoing restrictions," he added.
The ongoing restrictions on public movement will continue till June 16. There is also a possibility that restrictions will be extended till Eid-ul-Adha.
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Through observing the situation, the authorities are of the opinion that the overall admission process will have to be extended as admission seekers will not get enough time under the current schedule. As a result, there is no alternative but to extend the admission test date.
Wahiduzzaman, secretary of the Integrated Admission Committee of Universities and Registrar of Jagannath University, said it was not possible to hold the admission test as per existing schedule.
According to committee sources, the final application will be accepted after a completion of the initial application process. It is not possible to complete the initial application process within June.
Later, the admission committee will have to formulate a question paper as well as printing while other admission related tasks will take up the next month also, the officials said.
Other admission tests
Meanwhile, the DU authorities set a new schedule for the admission tests for Ka unit to take place on August 6, Kha unit on August 7, Ga unit on August 13, Gha unit on August 14 and Cha unit on July 31. The date for the Cha unit drawing admission tests will be announced later.
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Three engineering universities— Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET), and Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) – have fixed their admission tests for August 12 under a cluster system, said CUET VC Prof Dr Mohammad Rafiqul Alam.
However, the cluster admission tests of seven agricultural universities are set to be held on July 31 as scheduled.
Other universities will arrange the admission tests separately.
The medical admission test was held on April 2 while the entrance test for the dental college is set to take place on July 11.
Earlier on June 6, Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel told Dhaka Tribune that the government would not reopen schools and colleges in Bangladesh on June 13 and the closure of the institutions would be extended for a few days.
The move came immediately after the Cabinet Division decided to extend the ongoing restrictions on public movement in order to curb a further spread of Covid-19.
