UGC says Jagannath has ‘no scope’ to snub cluster admission test

Jagannath University teachers said they wanted to evaluate the candidates to allow more meritorious students in

The University Grants Commission, or UGC, has said Jagannath University has “no scope” to step out of the cluster admission test system after it sought to move away from the method.

In a statement on Monday, the UGC said a meeting with vice-chancellors decided that 22 universities, along with Jagannath University and Bangladesh Islami University, will be part of the cluster exams in the 2022-23 academic year.

“The cluster exam system is a good one. Some issues emerged over arranging the test in the new method, but there’s no scope to back off from this due to that,” Kazi Shahidullah, the chairman of the UGC, said.

Additionally, all the universities of the country will be part of the system in the following academic year, the statement added.

The UGC instructed the universities part of the process to swiftly arrange and conclude the test and move into starting the classes. It also asked organisers to come up with an easy and student-friendly process for the entrance exam this time around.

The cluster admission test system was introduced in the academic year 2020-21 to avoid the sufferings of the applicants during the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 22 universities participated in the common cluster. Some other public universities, including Dhaka University, Chattogram University, Rajshahi University, Jahangirnagar University and BUET, have not joined the system.

Jagannath University was leading the cluster system from the beginning, but this time the Jagannath University Teachers' Association strongly demanded not to be in the group.

Teachers said they want to evaluate the candidates because the students admitted through the cluster system are not as meritorious as expected.