Business in name of education will not be accepted: President

President Abdul Hamid asked on Tuesday the University Grants Commission (UGC) to play an active role to ensure the accountability of all the universities as well as the quality of education, report agencies.

The president made the call while speaking at the 'UGC Gold Medal' distribution ceremony at a city hotel.

"Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman took the breakthrough decision of establishing the Commission to promote higher education across the country," said the President.

The number of public and private universities in the country has now reached 150 with more than 3.9 million students enrolled there. Considering the number of students at the university level, Bangladesh has now achieved fourth place in the world after China, India and Indonesia, he added.

"This is a huge achievement," he further said.

Praising the government initiatives, he said, "The field of higher education in the country is now broader than the previous times. I think this was achieved for the time-befitting education policy with far-reaching plans and implementation of these on time," said the president.

"However, we have to put more emphasis not only on numbers but also on higher education so that our students can progress successfully in the global competition and ensure their place," he said.

Stressing the need for strong evaluation and supervision at every level of higher education, Abdul Hamid said, "The number of educational institutions in both the public and private sectors has been increased in terms of time and demand."

Hamid said the role of the private universities for increasing the sphere of higher education is really praiseworthy. "But business in name of education will not be accepted," he said.

Stressing on the extracurricular activities, the president said, "We need an education system that will create enlightened and creative-minded people who will be able to promote the ideals of liberation war and patriotism."

A total of thirty-five academics received the 'UGC Gold Medal' for their fundamental research works and publications.

Among them, 18 teachers were given the award for the year 2016 and 17 for 2017. Each of the selected teachers got Tk 50,000 for their books and Tk 30,000 for their articles as honorarium along with a certificate and a gold medal.

Noting that the university is not only the place of studies, but also a big venue of freethinking, he told the teachers and researchers to inspire the students in various extra-curricular activities including contemporary knowledge, sports and cultural programmes.