UGC asks 4 private universities to stop student enrolment

The move comes as the universities fail to shift all activities to permanent campuses within the deadline

The University Grants Commission, or UGC, has asked four private universities to stop enrolling new students for failing to shift all activities to permanent campuses within the deadline and not taking an initiative to build the campuses.

The institutions are Primeasia University, Stamford University Bangladesh, ASA University Bangladesh and Victoria University of Bangladesh, UGC said in a media statement on Thursday.

UGC issued a public notice on the steps taken against the country’s 18 private universities as the tenure of their temporary certificates has expired and they have failed to transfer their activities to permanent campuses.

According to the notice, the UGC sent letters to the universities directing them to shift to the permanent campuses between Apr 11 and Dec 31 last year, stating that admission of new students would be halted from Jan 1 if the institutions failed to comply with the directive.

In the statement, the UGC said new student admission at the temporary campuses of the State University of Bangladesh and Manarat International University will completely remain suspended but the programmes conducted at the permanent campuses will continue as usual.

Dhaka International University, the Royal University of Dhaka, Southeast University, City University, The Millennium University and Bangladesh University were given time to transfer their activities to permanent campuses by Mar 31, considering the progress in the construction of the campuses.

If the universities fail to comply with the directives within the mentioned time, student admission will remain halted and temporary campuses of the universities will be declared illegal, according to the notice.

It also said that BRAC University, the University of Development Alternative, the Green University of Bangladesh, Uttara University, Presidency University and The People's University of Bangladesh were asked to transfer their all activities by Jun 30 considering the visible progress in building permanent campuses and their written commitments.

New student admission in these universities will be completely stopped from Jul 1 if they fail to follow the directive.

As per the Private University Act-2010, the institutions have an obligation to transfer all activities to their own permanent campuses within 12 years of launch.