The Ministry of Education has announced the formation of a high-level expert committee to design an independent institutional framework equivalent to a university for the seven government colleges currently affiliated with Dhaka University (DU), reports bdneww24.com.
The four-member committee will be led by the chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) with members including an additional secretary from the Secondary and Higher Education Department, Dhaka University's pro-vice-chancellor, and UGC member Prof Tanzimuddin Khan.
The committee has been tasked with submitting its recommendations within the next four months.
On Sunday, Md Shahinur Islam, deputy secretary of the govt college branch of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Department, said: "This high-level expert committee will formulate a framework for an independent institutional structure equivalent to a university for seven government colleges."
The order to form the committee states that the UGC will be entrusted with the secretarial responsibility of this committee. Moreover, experts with administrative experience in higher education can be added as members to the committee as needed.
The colleges --Dhaka College, Eden Women's College, Government Shahid Suhrawardy College, Kabi Nazrul College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Women's College, Mirpur Government Bangla College, and Government Titumir College-were granted Dhaka University affiliation in 2017.
The move placed these institutions under the university's purview for admission tests, curricula, and examinations.
After the interim government came into power, the students of the seven colleges launched protests to break away from their affiliation with DU.
They pushed to establish independent universities as they argue that the affiliation has deprived the colleges of an independent institutional identity, creating administrative bottlenecks and hampering their academic progress.
Later, the Ministry of Education formed a committee to examine the students' demands. But the students announced that they would continue their movement.
On November 6, the ongoing student movement was suspended temporarily amid assurances from Wahiduddin Mahmud, the education advisor.
Students also protested by blocking the roads and railways in Dhaka's Mohakhali, demanding the conversion of the government-run Titumir College into a university.
At that time, the education advisor said that plans were underway to give the colleges a separate institutional form.
