Home ›› 21 Jan 2023 ›› Front
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has recommended that the government take necessary steps to create a special research fund to harness the potential of the blue economy aimed at utilising marine resources of the country properly.
The commission has also suggested establishing a special research fund to enhance research on the blue economy to tap the potential of undersea resources.
The university regulatory body came up with the recommendations in its 48th annual report which was handed over to President Md. Abdul Hamid on Thursday night. The report was made on the overall activities of the country’s 53 public and 108 private universities.
UGC said after settling the maritime boundary disputes in the Bay of Bengal with Myanmar and India, Bangladesh’s authority, rights and sovereignty have been established in the territorial area of more than 118,813 square kilometres outside its own territorial sea.
The potential of the blue economy can be explored with a view to deriving effective benefits from the sovereign rights established over the aforesaid territorial sea, the 200 nautical mile exclusive zone and the bottom of the continental shelf up to 354 nautical miles from the Chittagong coast, it said.
UGC further said the government can take necessary steps to promote excellence in oceanography and mineral resource extraction research in universities to accelerate the country’s sustainable development process by ensuring the proper use of untapped and unexplored resources in the sea targeting the blue economy.
Apart from this, UGC made 16 more recommendations in its latest annual report for the development of the country’s higher education.
UGC in its another recommendation said there are rules and regulations in the developed world for giving education loans to the students while studying at universities and repaying them after entering the job or some other ways.
As there is no such facility in Bangladesh, the government can take initiatives to provide financial support to poor students studying at the universities of Bangladesh by setting up an endowment fund and launching an education loan programme for students.
The UGC said the commission investigates various irregularities and corruption in universities and sends reports to the education ministry with recommendations for taking action against the persons responsible for. But it appears to the commission that the recommendations are not being implemented to a large extent.
Therefore, it is very important for the commission to have the power to take legal action after investigating irregularities over appointment of university teachers-officers-staff, admission of additional students, certificate business, financial irregularities and irregularities in the implementation of development projects.
In this regard, former UGC Chairman Prof Abdul Mannan said, “I have already said that the education ministry does not take most of the recommendations made by UGC into consideration.”
Many UGC officials have to suffer while investigating various irregularities and corruption and they are also face threats during the investigation, he added.
The educationist said UGC officials conduct investigation amid risk but the recommendation does not see light when it was sent to the ministry for action.
UGC also said the government can take effective steps to empower the commission to implement the recommendations put forward in the probe reports regarding the universities.
The commission said the government can take necessary initiatives to introduce a ranking system for the universities of the country, taking into account the socio-economic condition of Bangladesh following the model of the international ranking system.
The government may issue directives to the universities to take effective steps to use blockchain technology in the country’s universities to prevent certificate fraud.
With the help of frontier technology, the certificates will be stored in the blockchain repository and the hardcopy of certificates will have a QR code attached, which is easily authenticated using smartphone application or web application can be verified, it said.
UGC further said it is very important to formulate academic master plan in each university aimed at creating skilled manpower with ethical values and ensuring international quality education in higher education.
If the academic master plan is formulated and implemented, the graduates of the university will be able to acquire time-befitting skills, it said.
The government can constitute an independent recruitment commission to ensure transparency and accountability in the recruitment of teachers-officers-employees in public universities to get qualified persons.
The government may take effective steps to formulate a policy for determining the land area for setting up campuses in newly established universities at reasonable level.
The complexity regarding financial management in universities is increasing gradually. So, the government and the UGC may take steps to formulate a ‘uniform financial policy and financial manual’ to restore financial discipline.
To promote quality higher education, reputed foreign universities may be permitted to set up and operate branch campuses with their own infrastructural and other ancillary facilities to a limited extent, but there is need for updating the existing policy.
The audit activities are vital for ensuring transparency and accountability in the accounting system and bringing discipline in the financial sector by ascertaining accountability.
For this purpose, the government and the commission can take effective steps to formulate ‘audit standard, code of ethics and audit manual’ for the universities.
UGC also said most of the public universities in Bangladesh do not have any specific policies and procedures for the appointment of vice-chancellors, pro-vice-chancellors and treasurers.
Besides, no opinion from UGC is taken about the recruitment process for three posts (VC, pro-VC and treasurer) in the public universities.
So, based on the opinions given by the UGC, the government may frame an implementable policy for appointing at the top posts from eminent academicians of the country, UGC said.
