The interim government鈥檚 education ministry adviser, Wahiduddin Mahmud, directed public universities to hold the admission test under the cluster-based system this academic year to keep order in the sector and avoid confusions.
In a letter sent to the public universities under the cluster-based admission test system on Sunday, he also said that in future scope would be available to reform this system.
The letter was issued after Jagannath University, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh and Khulna University of Engineering and Technology decided to leave the system citing problems including not getting meritorious students and session congestion.
Jagannath University vice-chancellor professor Md Rezaul Karim said that they would take some more days for decision about holding the admission tests under the cluster-based system.
Bangladesh Agricultural University vice-chancellor professor AK Fazlul Haque Bhuiyan, however, said that they would follow the directive of the adviser and hold the test under the system this year.
In the letter, issued by the education ministry and addressed to the vice-chancellors of the public universities, Wahiduddin Mahmud said that if the universities left the cluster-based admission test system then it would become more difficult to bring back order in the higher education sector.
At a meeting in the ministry, the vice-chancellors were gathered for discussion where reasons were given for keeping it as well as abolishing it, the letter continued.
鈥楾here will be scope for reforming this method in future if necessary,鈥� the adviser said, adding, 鈥業n present circumstances, if the universities continue to take individual decision then confusion will be created among the students and their guardians.鈥�
He said in the letter that they had also received some memorandums from some guardians and admission seeking students in favour of the cluster-based system.
鈥楢gainst this backdrop, I am requesting you to try as much as possible to follow the cluster-based admission test system for the academic year of 2024-2025,鈥� the letter concluded.
Earlier on November 27, the education ministry had sought some more time from the public universities to take a final decision on continuing or scrapping the system.
Most recently, the authorities of Jagannath University issued an advertisement to take a separate admission test for this year.
The university鈥檚 vice-chancellor, professor Rezaul Karim, said that the decision of leaving the cluster-based system was taken at an academic council meeting.
鈥楽o the decision to hold the test under the system will be taken at another academic council meeting,鈥� he added.
Bangladesh Agricultural University vice-chancellor professor Fazlul Haque Bhuiyan said that as the government asked and for the interest of the country they would hold the admission test under this system this year.
Seven agricultural universities held admission tests under the cluster system for the first time in the 2019鈥�20 academic year with the aim of reducing sufferings of the admission seekers.
In the 2020-21 and 2021-22 sessions, the universities in three clusters 鈥� general and, science and technology universities, agricultural universities, and engineering universities鈥� held admission tests under the cluster system.
According to the University Grants Commission, 24 general and science and technology universities, eight agricultural universities, and three engineering universities are scheduled to conduct admission tests this year.
In the country currently there are 55 public universities.
Five major public universities 鈥� Dhaka University, Chittagong University, Rajshahi University, Jahangirnagar University and the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology 鈥� decided not to join the system since the introduction.
