The approval was given at the regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at the Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said a 13 member council, as per the draft law, will be constituted headed by a chairman along with four fulltime and eight part-time members which will work for ensuring the quality of higher education.
Among the eight part-time members, Shafiul said one would be nominated by the University Grants Commission, one by the government having the status of joint secretary, president of the Association of the Private Universities in Bangladesh or a representative of the association, an expert of a reconsigned foreign accreditation agency and a representative of a related professional organisation to be nominated by the government.
Besides, an FBCCI entrepreneur, an educationist expert in education administration and an ICT expert nominated by the government would also be the part-time members of the council, he added.
About the qualification of the chairman and members, the cabinet secretary said they must have 25 years of experience in teaching in public universities along with minimum 10 years of teaching experience as professors.
The cabinet secretary added that the council will also work to earn international recognition on accreditation through inter-state level discussions and mutual discussions with international organisations.
It will also arrange seminars, symposiums and necessary training, development and campaign programmes on accreditation.
The cabinet secretary said the cabinet endorsed the “Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) Research Law, 2016” aiming to make the organisation more dynamic and time-befitting one.
Under the new law, he said, there will be an advisory council and a board of directors in the BINA. The council will guide the board of directors through giving advice time to time and policy support.
The agriculture minister will be the head of this advisory council while the agriculture secretary will be its vice-president, he said.
