Govt suspends order for university admission based on grades

The government has rolled back a Wednesday order directing all public and private universities, like colleges, to admit students based only on their SSC and HSC grades.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said on Thursday, "The directive has been put on hold."

Although the minister did not give any reason for the retreat, but several education ministry people claimed the 'minister was misled' into signing the files and that he had come to know of the matter after the media had published it.

An employee of the ministry, seeking anonymity, said, "The minister on Thursday afternoon sought for the files pertaining to the directive issued on university admission and suspended it."

He will decide on the matter after further discussions and examinations, he added.

Attempts were made to contact the Education Secretary Md Nazrul Islam Khan but he could not be reached.

Wednesday’s directive said the move was to cut down on the expenses and ease the harassment faced by the students at the time of admission tests at public universities.

All public and autonomous universities enrol new students after taking admission test.

Admissions based on the SSC and HSC results would help academic sessions to begin fast and spare parents a lot of hassles, the ministry observed.

Though some private universities take tests, students can enrol directly at most others.

The government had tried to initiate admission tests in public universities in an integrated system during the past few years.

But the move did not see the light of day because of staunch opposition from major universities.

'Food for thought'

Chittagong University Vice Chancellor Prof Md Anwarul Azim Arif believes admissions based on the SSC and HSC results will ease complications.

"There's a relation between good results and merit," he said stating that education quality was not the same everywhere.

Dhaka University VC AAMS Arefin Siddique declined comments before consulting his colleagues.

Public university VCs' organisation chief and Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science & Technology University VC Md Ruhul Amin said they did not have any objection to admitting students based on results.

But he said the VCs opinions should be heard first.

"We want to do what is best for the country and the students.”

But Bangladesh's first woman VC Farzana Islam of Jahangirnagar University believes the ministry's directives had given them 'food for thought'.

She said they were looking for alternatives to admission tests.

"This directive has provided us food for thought," she said.

"But if we admit students based on results... we also have to consider the fact that tests across the country are not on the same level," Islam said.

No test for university enrolment