Dhaka University to offer 1,040 fewer places to improve quality of education

Dhaka University will offer 1,040 fewer places, making 6,085 seats available to pupils, from the academic year 2021-22 in an effort to increase the quality of higher education.

Its General Admissions Committee took the decision on Monday following the Deans Committee's proposal in light of the demands of departments and institutes, Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof ASM Maksud Kamal said on Tuesday.

This recommendation of the committee will be finalised after discussions in the upcoming meeting of the academic council, he said.

The number of seats in most of the departments and institutes has been decreased, while a few have been increased.

The move follows call from ex-officio Chancellor of the university, President Md Abdul Hamid, and many others to ensure the quality of education at the institution as it is celebrating 100 years of its foundation.

In the last few decades, many say, the number of students has increased disproportionally to the number of teachers and infrastructure due to the unplanned opening of new departments and institutes.

This has put extra pressure on everything, including student accommodation, library facilities, classrooms and transportation.

“The total seats in the admission tests have to be logically determined in light of several factors such as the quality of education, environment, students’ living standards, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, etc. Considering all these, the number of seats is being revised down,” said DU Vice-Chancellor Prof Md Akhtaruzzaman.

The Admissions Committee has recommended cutting most seats in the Faculty of Arts. Currently, there are 1,875 seats in 17 departments of the faculty. The committee has recommended reducing 535 seats.

It has also been suggested that the Faculty of Business Studies reduce the number of seats from 1,250 to 1,050.

In sixteen departments of the Faculty of Social Sciences, 1,070 students will be admitted, 152 fewer than the previous year.

The Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering and Technology have been advised to increase the number of seats.