UGC chairman seeks Tk 10b for private universities

---

Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Professor Nazrul Islam said a Taka 10 billion fund could be floated for development of infrastructures and other facilities of private universities in the country, reports BSS.
"As the government provides various supports including land and money for development of the industries sector, a big fund amounting to Taka 1,000 crore could be floated for private universities to ensure better education there," he said at a seminar on better education at the CIRDAP auditorium Saturday.
Prof. Nazrul Islam said UGC has already proposed formulation of service rules for the teachers of private universities, especially to ensure their salaries at standard levels.
"UGC is working on making students' fees at private universities realistic. We also want establishment of private universities outside of Dhaka as 42 such institutions out of the total 51 are already in the capital," he said.
The UGC chairman said the Commission and the government should play the roles of facilitators to help improve education at private universities to create skilled manpower for domestic and international job markets.
"The salaries and other relevant facilities of all university teachers as well as researchers should be increased and that will prevent brain drain and they will dedicate themselves totally to further raising the standard of education in the country," he said.
"The strategy to further develop our public and private universities has already been prepared and now we have to implement it properly for coveted results in the education sector," Prof Nazrul Islam said.
He, however, suggested good governance in the administration of the public universities side by side with de-politicising all campuses to restore the glory of higher education in this part of the world.
Military Secretary to the President Major General M Aminul Karim and Pro Vice-chancellor of Primeasia University Professor ANM Meshquat Uddin presented two separate keynote papers.