A recently published task force report on re-strategising the economy recommended that the government should develop and implement a single university admission test for all public and private universities in the country.
The recommendation came at a time when the government is struggling to bring public universities under the cluster-based admission test system to reduce the hassle of admission seekers by saving their time and money.
The task force also suggested the government to impose ban on-campus student politics in all public and private universities.
The task force report on Re-strategising the Economy and Mobilising Resources for Equitable and Sustainable Development was submitted to the chief adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, on January 30.
Terming Bangladesh鈥檚 current state of primary, secondary and higher education as less than ideal, which failed to meet global standards, the report said that strengthening primary, secondary and higher education systems was crucial for the country鈥檚 sustainable development.
The 12-member task force was formed by the planning ministry in September 2024.
The report鈥檚 chapter six, titled 鈥楻eaping the Benefits of Demographic Dividends: Investment in Education鈥�, mentioned 17 short-term strategies and 10 mid-term to long-term strategies for the development of the country鈥檚 education system.
One of the short-term strategies is to develop a single university entrance examination.
鈥楢 single university entrance examination, based on internationally recognised aptitude tests such as the SAT and Reaping the Benefits of Demographic Dividends: Investment in Education 165 GRE, should be developed and implemented for all public and private university admissions,鈥� it reads.
The education ministry on January 27 directed the country鈥檚 public universities to hold admission tests under the cluster-based system for the 2024-2025 academic year considering the interest and demand of the common students.
The ministry on December 24 directed the public universities to hold admission tests under the cluster-based system this academic year to keep order in the sector and avoid confusion.
Earlier on December 1, the interim government鈥檚 education adviser, Wahiduddin Mahmud, gave the same direction.
The interim government made the moves after some universities including Jagannath University, Khulna University and Shahjalal University of Science and Technology decided to leave the system this year citing problems.
Since the introduction of the system in the 2019鈥�20 academic year, the government has been facing difficulties in implementing the cluster-based admission test for public universities.
According to the University Grants Commission, out of the country鈥檚 55 public universities, 35 are scheduled to conduct admission tests under this system in the 2023-24 academic year under three clusters 鈥� 鈥榞eneral, science and technology universities鈥�, 鈥榓gricultural universities鈥�, and 鈥榚ngineering universities鈥�.
The task force report also reads that the government should consider merging some universities, both public and private, to optimise limited educational funds, increase cooperation among institutions through resource sharing, and improve global ranking.
鈥楢ll public and private universities should completely ban on-campus student politics,鈥� it also reads.
The report also reads that provisions for auto pass in examinations should be revoked, and no auto pass should be allowed in any examination under any circumstances.
鈥楾hose involved in leaking question papers should be punished with a three to 10-year prison term as per the Public Examinations (Offences) (Amended) Act, 1992,鈥� it continued.
The short term strategies included 鈥� standardisation of the education systems by reviewing various types of primary and secondary education systems and updating the teaching and students鈥� assessment methods to incorporate enjoyable and less stressful pedagogical practices in the teaching methods focusing on core subjects, moral education, life skills and extra-curricular activities and to make a balance between examination and continuous classroom assessment.
Some other strategies are - conducting a comprehensive need assessment of facilities and public expenditure tracking in the primary and secondary education sector, allocating additional resources to expand ICT access, providing socioeconomic support like scholarships and school meal programmes, enhancing safety at the educational institutions, reviewing the existing workload of teachers and rationalise those, increasing the availability of technology and internet and the use of English language at university, ensuring merit-based recruitment and performance-based promotion of university teachers, implementing a 鈥楴o PhD, No Professor鈥� policy in the universities, and safeguarding academic freedom and operational autonomy of universities.
The medium to long-term strategies include - providing substantial government funding to both public and private universities, increasing international cooperation and exchanges, offering incentives to the best international academics, professors, and scholars, improving teacher-student ratios, recruiting qualified teachers with pay scale, strengthening teacher鈥檚 training programs, targeted interventions for girls, support for students with disabilities, enhancing monitoring and resolving administrative problems.
