Direct admission for undergraduate students deprives meritorious candidates, according to the commission
University Grants Commission (UGC) Collected
Mamun Abdullah
Publish : 03 Jan 2022, 08:42 PMUpdate : 29 Mar 2022, 02:01 PM
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has proposed formulating an integrated policy to introduce open competition in the master’s course admission process, instead of allowing direct admission to undergraduate students of the same university.
Most universities and honours-integrated colleges of the country have postgraduate-level education facilities and offer master’s programs, even though they do not have a sufficient number of qualified teachers to teach the courses. As a result, it is not possible to ensure quality education at these institutions, the UGC said in its 47th annual report.
Considering the dearth of quality master’s courses on offer in the country, allowing undergraduate students direct admission to master’s courses at the same university deprives meritorious candidates of other universities of admission in it, the report added.
The report, which includes 20 recommendations, was officially handed over to President Abdul Hamid, who is chancellor of universities, late on Thursday.
One of the other recommendations of the report relates to arranging scholarships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships in order to give priority to postgraduate research activities by students.
UGC member Prof Muhammed Alamgir said: “No need to admit all students to master’s programs. the students who want to be teachers, researchers or want to study higher should only get the opportunity.”
A central research laboratory and National Research Council need to be established for Bangladesh to be competitive in the international research arena, he added.
The university regulatory body also called for creating an integrated university information management platform, as universities need to ensure transparency and accountability in financial management through the formulation and implementation of software.
Furthermore, the UGC asked the government to formulate a comprehensive monetary policy and manual for universities, as some universities have been taking advantage of loopholes in the current law.
The commission recommended amending the Private University Act, 2010 and setting student tuition fee structures. It believes the government can take an initiative to implement such proposals by formulating a uniform law for all the universities except the four leading universities covered by the 1973 order.
Moreover, the UGC has recommended increasing budgetary allocation for higher education, as it is currently just 0.87% of the national budget.
The regulatory body proposed an allocation of 2% of the national budget for the higher education sector by 2022 and 6% by 2030 by identifying sectoral allocation in higher education in the national budget, approval to do masters, MPhil-PhD, formulation of a policy to stop plagiarism in research in universities, closure of evening courses and introducing diploma, short courses, vocational and training programs.
Former UGC chairman Nazrul Islam agreed with most of the recommendations and said he also wants to end evening courses and limit master's courses in order to ensure quality education in the country.
UGC wants open competition for master's courses
Direct admission for undergraduate students deprives meritorious candidates, according to the commission
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has proposed formulating an integrated policy to introduce open competition in the master’s course admission process, instead of allowing direct admission to undergraduate students of the same university.
Most universities and honours-integrated colleges of the country have postgraduate-level education facilities and offer master’s programs, even though they do not have a sufficient number of qualified teachers to teach the courses. As a result, it is not possible to ensure quality education at these institutions, the UGC said in its 47th annual report.
Considering the dearth of quality master’s courses on offer in the country, allowing undergraduate students direct admission to master’s courses at the same university deprives meritorious candidates of other universities of admission in it, the report added.
The report, which includes 20 recommendations, was officially handed over to President Abdul Hamid, who is chancellor of universities, late on Thursday.
One of the other recommendations of the report relates to arranging scholarships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships in order to give priority to postgraduate research activities by students.
UGC member Prof Muhammed Alamgir said: “No need to admit all students to master’s programs. the students who want to be teachers, researchers or want to study higher should only get the opportunity.”
A central research laboratory and National Research Council need to be established for Bangladesh to be competitive in the international research arena, he added.
The university regulatory body also called for creating an integrated university information management platform, as universities need to ensure transparency and accountability in financial management through the formulation and implementation of software.
Furthermore, the UGC asked the government to formulate a comprehensive monetary policy and manual for universities, as some universities have been taking advantage of loopholes in the current law.
The commission recommended amending the Private University Act, 2010 and setting student tuition fee structures. It believes the government can take an initiative to implement such proposals by formulating a uniform law for all the universities except the four leading universities covered by the 1973 order.
Moreover, the UGC has recommended increasing budgetary allocation for higher education, as it is currently just 0.87% of the national budget.
The regulatory body proposed an allocation of 2% of the national budget for the higher education sector by 2022 and 6% by 2030 by identifying sectoral allocation in higher education in the national budget, approval to do masters, MPhil-PhD, formulation of a policy to stop plagiarism in research in universities, closure of evening courses and introducing diploma, short courses, vocational and training programs.
Former UGC chairman Nazrul Islam agreed with most of the recommendations and said he also wants to end evening courses and limit master's courses in order to ensure quality education in the country.
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