The University Grants Commission (UGC) has backtracked from the decision to implement uniform financial policies and manuals even though it was ready to do so from July 1.
The commission is now set to review the decision after Eid-ul-Azha, slated for June 29.
UGC Chairman Kazi Shahidullah on Friday told this reporter that a committee will be formed to sit with all stakeholders to review the policies and resolve any issues.
“So, the policies will not be implemented from July 1,” he said.
At least two groups of public university teachers recently opposed the implementation of uniform policies, which they think would hamper the autonomy of the universities.
According to them, the UGC formulated the policies on its own and did not consult them.
The financial policies and manuals are meant to ensure more accountability and smooth operation of academic activities at public universities in line with the government's directives, the UGC claims.
The UGC says the authorities of universities regularly violate the commission's financial guidelines and some of them are individually involved in financial wrongdoing.
Currently, there are 168 universities, including 54 that are under public management, in the country. More than 4.4 million students are studying in these higher education institutions.
The government has vowed to set up a university in each district.
The opposition
The Federation of Bangladesh University Teachers' Association (FBUTA) and Bangladesh Open University Teacher Association (BOUTA) want the decision to be withdrawn as “it is against the regulations of all public universities”.
They recently issued a deadline of July 9 for the university regulatory body to withdraw the decision to implement the financial policies and manuals, threatening to otherwise go on strike at all public universities simultaneously.
FBUTA President Md Akhtarul Islam said: “The commission did not respect the autonomy of public universities and took the decision without discussion.”
Nevertheless, he claims to be in favour of transparency in the financial sector of the universities.
“Any decision on the policies should be taken after discussion with all quarters,” he added.
Financial discrepancies
Despite the government struggling with a financial crisis and implementing an austerity policy, some newly established public universities have demanded over twice the allocation from the UGC as compared to those a year ago, according to the commission.
Dhaka Tribune has obtained a copy of financial estimates from some public universities and found some suspicious figures.
For instance, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur (BRUR) has sought more than Tk7.5 crore for the next fiscal year, up from the outgoing fiscal's allocation of Tk3 crore.
Analyzing the estimates, it was found that in a certain sector where most of the universities have shown a TK 50,000 expenditure, the BRUR claimed that it spent Tk200,000 there.
The spending as claimed by the BRUR authorities caught the attention of the UGC, which called it a “large-scale stealing” from the government allocation.
What does the law say?
According to UGC Order, 1973, well-known as President's Order No 10 of 1973, the apex and statutory body of the universities receives funds from the government and allocates and disburses -- out of such funds -- grants to the universities for their maintenance and development.
It also determines the financial needs of the universities
The ordinance also states that UGC shall be accountable to the government for all the funds it receives and the way they are utilized. The UGC shall enforce discipline in the universities and shall have control over them, it adds.
How does the UGC act on this?
During budgetary allocation, the commission usually sends a set of instructions to all public universities and requests their authorities to follow and maintain mandatory obligations.
UGC sources said they not only found financial anomalies, but a reluctance among the university authorities in implementing UGC's guidelines or directions.
UGC Chairman Shahidullah said the 1973 ordinance gave universities a great deal of academic autonomy. “But it does not allow financial autonomy of the university.”
He further said: “We must not forget that the ordinance was meant to control financial abuse, poor quality of education, political interference, lack of accountability of teachers, terrorism, session jam and delay in publishing of examination results, etc”.
Under the ordinance, enormous power is entrusted to every university syndicate.
“Sadly, this power is abused very often. This causes the financial irregularities alongside hampering smoother academic activities,” the UGC chief said, adding that the autonomy of universities is now “questionable” from all quarters.
Echoing a similar sentiment, UGC Secretary Ferdous Zaman said they are determined to stop the “looting” of government funds by public universities.
Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel told Dhaka Tribune that financial discipline is a must in public entities as they are run on taxpayers' money.
“We've seen that, due to lack of discipline, public funds are not properly administered in some universities. Also, a great deal of the funds goes for construction purposes alone, which often do not have academic output,” he said.
The deputy minister urged the public university authorities to abide by the UGC's latest decision in this regard.
