Dhaka – Though the government earlier several times said it would take action against the private universities this month that failed to shift to its permanent campuses but now reverted that they would do it after taking the reports of a new committee.Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid at the convocation of Independent University on 12 Feb and in another convocation of Daffodil International University on Feb 22 said that the government would take legal action including stopping of admission of new students against the 39 private universities that failed to shift to permanent campuses within the speculated time on 31 January this year.
But the minister yesterday said they held a meeting with the chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Prof Abdul Mannan and came up with the decision that a new committee has been launched that would oversee the problems of the universities including not shifting to new campuses, no having vice-chancellors, pro-vice-chancellors and treasurers.
This four-member committee headed by UGC member Prof Dr Md Akhtar Hossain would submit the report by June 30 and the government would take action accordingly.
The other members of the committee are UGC member Prof. Dr. M. Shah Nowaz Ali, additional secretary of secondary and higher education division of education ministry Abdullah Al Hasan Chowdhury and UGC deputy director Jesmin Parvin as member secretary of the committee.
Education ministry and UGC yesterday held a meeting at the UGC auditorium to take steps about the private universities that did not move to its permanent campuses.
Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid, education secretary of secondary and higher education division, additional secretary of secondary and higher education division of education ministry Abdullah Al Hasan Chowdhury, deputy secretary of secondary and higher education division of education ministry Zinnat Rehana, UGC chairman professor Abdul Mannan, among others, were present on the occasion.
Hailing from the meeting, Nahid told the reporters said, “Our purpose is not to shut down these universities but we want that these universities would run its activities as per rules and regulations.”
“We gave them several times to shift. 12 universities have already been shifted. Some universities have bought lands while one university did not buy land. Five universities have conflicts in the board of trustees. We could not understand the motives of the universities which did not buy lands,” he added. – Staff Reporter
