Nearly 800,000 higher education seats expected to remain vacant

Universities all across Bangladesh could have around 800,000 vacant seats this academic year after just over half of the students who sat the higher secondary examinations passed.

There are 61 public and 117 approved private universities nationwide, with a combined capacity of about 1.49 million seats, according to the University Grants Commission.

Public universities and affiliated institutions account for around one million seats, while private universities have approximately 400,000.

Of the 1,240,798 students who sat the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent examinations, 633,149 passed, a rate of 52.12 percent.

Even if all successful candidates enter higher education, more than 850,000 seats could remain unfilled.

A further 422,905 students who failed one or two subjects can retake the exams.

National University Vice-Chancellor Prof ASM Amanullah said supplementary exams and re-evaluation could raise the pass rate by up to 10 percentage points.

Prof Syed Akhtaruzzaman, Dhaka education board chairman and president of the Inter-Education Board Coordination Committee, told bdnews24.com that the supplementary exams are expected to be held with results published between Dec 2 and 31.

However, students who pass the supplementary exams may miss some admission tests.

Dhaka University’s tests are due to begin on Dec 11, while BUET and Rajshahi University are expected to hold theirs in January.

Medical and dental college admission tests are provisionally set for Dec 4.

Rajshahi University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Mamunur Rashid said the university would discuss arrangements for newly eligible students.

Meanwhile, Dhaka University Pro-Vice-Chancellor Prof Abdus Salam said no decision had been made.

Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon said admission opportunities would remain open, but universities would decide whether to relax their academic requirements.

Prof Shah Shamim Ahmed of Dhaka University's Institute of Education and Research warned that lowering admission standards could undermine education quality.

Another professor at the institute, Mojibur Rahman, said vacant seats should not be considered a problem.

“Higher education is not for everyone,” he said, warning that lowering standards could weaken universities and increase unemployment.