United News of Bangladesh

Jahangirnagar University Central Students’ Union (JUCSU) staged a sit-in on Sunday demanding implementation of its 13-point agenda for academic reform and student welfare. The sit-in was held in front of the university’s new Registrar Building in the afternoon. The demands include implementing the academic calendar, increasing thesis funding, introducing certificate courses at the Wazed Miah Research Centre, recruiting student research assistants, introducing a teacher evaluation system, ensuring facilities for students with disabilities, extending institutional email validity and allowing re-evaluation of examination scripts. Other demands include simplifying improvement examinations, strengthening the Controller of Examinations Office, introducing special examinations, preparing realistic examination schedules and expanding online e-resources. JUCSU Education and Research Secretary Abu Obaida Osama said the union had raised these demands with the university administration since its formation. “On July 29, the Academic Council accepted our 13 demands. We hope the administration will take the necessary steps to implement them at today’s Syndicate meeting,” he said. On thesis funding, Osama said the administration planned to increase the allocation from Tk 750 to Tk 7,500. “The proposal has passed the Finance Committee, and we expect the Syndicate to give it final approval today,” he added. JUCSU General Secretary Mazharul Islam said the union had been working on academic reform since its formation. He said the Academic Council had accepted most of their demands and decided to increase research funding for students. “We hope the Syndicate will approve and implement these decisions. We will not accept any delay regarding students’ academic rights,” he added. Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan said the demands were relevant but noted that the university faced financial constraints because it depended on government allocations. “We will provide the maximum possible support for academic development within our capacity,” he said. VC also said the university would prioritize increasing allocations for students and researchers while maintaining a balance in the distribution of funds to improve the quality of education.

The British Council has invited applications for the 13th edition of the Study UK Alumni Awards, recognising UK alumni who have made significant contributions to their communities, professions and countries. The awards will recognise achievements in four categories — Science and Sustainability; Culture, Creativity and Sport; Social Action; and Business and Innovation, said a press release issued on Sunday. Eligible applicants can compete at both national and global levels. A judging panel will select four global winners from 28 global finalists. The global winners will have the opportunity to raise their international profiles, expand their professional networks and advance their careers through a dedicated networking visit to the UK. Besides, Bangladesh will host a national ceremony to honour its finalists. The last date to submit applications is October 15. The winners of Bangladesh awards will be announced in January 2027 whereas, the Global winners will be announced in August 2027 and celebrated through a digital campaign highlighting their remarkable stories and successes. Last year, the award received almost over 1,800 applications from international UK alumni nearly from 100 countries across the UK. The twelfth edition of the Study UK Alumni Awards was a resounding success, with the national ceremony held in Dhaka in December 2025 to celebrate winners and finalists from diverse fields and countries. Building on this momentum, the British Council now invites applications for the 13th edition, continuing its mission to honour alumni who are shaping industries, driving innovation, and making a lasting impact on societies worldwide. Speaking about the Alumni Awards 2027, Maarya Rehman, Deputy Director, British Council said "The Study UK Alumni Awards celebrate the remarkable ways in which UK alumni are turning their knowledge, skills and experiences into meaningful contributions to their communities, industries and wider society. We have seen through our alumni community in Bangladesh how diverse and inspiring these journeys can be, from advancing science and innovation to driving social change and creative enterprise. I encourage eligible UK alumni to take this opportunity to share their stories, celebrate their achievements and join a global community of changemakers. The Awards are not only a recognition of what alumni have accomplished, but also a platform to amplify their impact and connect them with new opportunities and networks.” For comprehensive details on how to apply, categories, application process and eligibility criteria, it was asked to visit https://www.britishcouncil.org.bd/en/study-uk/alumni-awards-2027.

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has said necessary alignment will be introduced between Bangla and English medium curricula to bring Bangladesh’s education system up to global standards. He said students, regardless of their medium of education, must have a common minimum standard of foundational knowledge, skills and learning outcomes. “To achieve this, coordinated initiatives involving all types of educational institutions, both public and private, will be taken in four key areas—curriculum, infrastructure, teacher training and technology,” he said. The State Minister made the remarks while addressing the School Leaders Conference 2026, organised by Oxford AQA International Qualifications at a city hotel in Dhaka on Saturday. “We do not merely want to follow the world’s best practices; our dream is that one day, other countries will look to Bangladesh for the best practices in education,” he said. Bobby said the government is prepared to invest the necessary time, funds and effort to achieve the goal. He stressed that whether a student studies in Bangla medium, English medium or another stream, a common standard of foundational knowledge and skills must be ensured. “While there may be differences between high-performing and lower-performing institutions, there should not be significant disparities in curriculum or the fundamental quality of education,” he said. Highlighting the need for rapid reform in primary education, the State Minister said clear minimum standards should be established for school hours, effective learning time, classroom capacity, infrastructure and teacher training. “Teachers should not be assigned classroom responsibilities without proper training,” he said.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Education Ministry has recommended field inspections to investigate allegations of irregularities and corruption at various institutions under the ministry, including the National University and education boards. The committee also recommended giving serious consideration to bringing educational institutions under the MPO scheme if they had fulfilled the required conditions but were denied the facility due to discrimination during the previous government. The recommendations were made at the first meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Education Ministry of the 13th Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday, according to a press release issued by the Parliament Secretariat. The committee called for necessary measures to modernise the country’s education system and bring it up to international standards to build a knowledge-based, corruption-free and ethical nation. The committee placed particular emphasis on preventing irregularities and corruption in the education sector. It recommended that allegations of irregularities or corruption in the National University, education boards and other institutions under the Education Ministry be properly scrutinised and that necessary action be taken.  It also stressed the need for the parliamentary committee to conduct field inspections where necessary. The meeting recommended that institutions meeting the required criteria for inclusion under the MPO scheme but allegedly deprived of the facility through discrimination during the previous government be considered for MPO enlistment with due importance. The committee also expressed special gratitude to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman for taking steps to provide retirement and welfare benefits to 25,000 retired teachers. The meeting noted that the government has given the highest priority to education and allocated the highest amount of funding to the sector in this year’s budget. Committee Chairman Md Selim Bhuiyan presided over the meeting.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized contraband goods worth a total of Tk 347.81 crore during separate drives in border areas and elsewhere across the country in August. The seized contraband items included 8.554 kg of gold, 21,646 sarees, 3,962 three-piece sets, shirts, bed sheets and blankets, 5,154 pieces of ready-made garments, 1,887 metres of cloth, 5,851 pieces of imitation jewellery and 606,241 cosmetic items. BGB also seized 1,040,196 pieces of fireworks, 4,711 cubic feet of timber, 104,494 kg of coal, 610 cubic feet of stone, 8,628 cubic feet of sand, 17,130 kg of tea leaves, 8,715 kg of betel nuts, 418 mobile phones, 7,848 mobile phone displays and 34,111 mobile phone components. Other seized items included 18,500 Gillette blades, 11,758 pairs of glasses, 378,232 packets of chocolate, 7,637 packets of various seeds, 56,622 kg of cumin, 18,960 kg of garlic, 131 kg of cardamom, 7,972 kg of sugar, 34,057 kg of fertiliser, 180,000 shrimp fry, 11,451 kg of current nets (monofilament gill nets), 743 litres of edible and fuel oil, 560 packets of pesticides, 604,788 pieces of various medicines, 5.7 kg of snake venom and nine pieces of touchstone/sandstone. The paramilitary border force also seized 14 trucks/covered vans, 10 pickup trucks, six private cars, three trolleys, 61 CNGs/easy-bikes/auto-rickshaws/pushcarts, 91 motorcycles, 83 bicycles/vans and 97 boats, according to a BGB press release issued on Wednesday afternoon. The recovered weapons included 14 domestic and foreign-made pistols, 10 magazines and 74 rounds of ammunition. BGB also seized a large quantity of narcotics and intoxicating substances during the month. The seized drugs and intoxicants included 4,593,863 Yaba tablets, 4 kg of crystal meth (Ice), 1,371 bottles of Phensedyl, 7,636 bottles of foreign liquor, 345 litres of locally produced liquor (Bangla liquor), 1,756 cans of beer, 1,863 kg 680 grams of cannabis, 228,039 narcotic tablets/injections, 22,006 bottles of various syrups, 10,643 other tablets and 126,661 packets of cigarettes. It detained 220 alleged smugglers for their involvement in drug trafficking, including Yaba trafficking, and other smuggling activities during operations along the border. The force detained 37 Bangladeshi citizens, six Indian citizens and 188 Myanmar citizens for illegally crossing the border.

Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon on Tuesday rejected the allegation that political loyalty has been prioritised over seniority, academic qualifications and administrative experience in appointing vice-chancellors (VCs) to public universities. Responding to a question from Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Md Nurul Islam, MP from Chapainawabganj-3, during the question-and-answer hour in Parliament, he said the allegation was "not based on facts." The Jamaat MP asked the minister to clarify the government's position on what he described as a structural erosion of neutral education administration and democratic campus environments, alleging that nearly half of VC appointments at public universities sidelined seniority and higher academic qualifications in favour of political allegiance. In his reply, the minister said VC appointments were made in accordance with the relevant university laws, taking into account candidates' seniority, academic qualifications, teaching and research experience, administrative competence and capacity for academic leadership. “No candidate's political identity was considered in the process,” he added. He said the government believes a VC’s responsibilities include ensuring academic excellence, maintaining neutrality and accountability in administration, safeguarding the rights of teachers, students and other stakeholders, and ensuring a fair, safe and democratic campus environment. Outlining the government's approach, Milon said emphasis is being placed on running university administration in line with respective laws, rules and statutes. He mentioned that syndicates, senates, academic councils and other statutory bodies are being kept functional in academic and administrative decision-making. Transparency in financial management, along with regular audits and accountability, is being strengthened, the minister said, adding that importance is being given to ensuring freedom of expression and the legitimate rights of teachers, students and staff. He said any specific allegations of irregularities, bias or abuse of power against a VC will be investigated and appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the law. Milon reaffirmed the government's commitment to protecting the autonomy of higher education institutions, neutral education administration and the academic environment, adding that merit, experience, integrity and administrative capability will continue to be prioritised in future appointments to top posts at public universities.

Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon on Tuesday said the government has a proposal to appoint an office assistant in every government primary school, as the absence of such support staff currently burdens teachers with administrative work. He said the proposal would be implemented subject to approval of PEDP-5 (the fifth Primary Education Development Programme). The minister was responding to a starred written question from Prof Nazrul Islam, lawmaker from Rajshahi-5, during the question-answer session in the Jatiya Sangsad. He also said the government plans to make religious education, fine arts and music practice compulsory in all primary schools across the country to aid students' mental, moral and creative development. Responding to a question from reserved-seat MP Rokeya Begum, the minister said textbooks would include age- and class-appropriate content on the July mass uprising, the killings carried out by the then Awami League government in July-August, and various aspects of Sheikh Hasina government's "fascist" rule. This would cover the causes and course of the uprising, the killings, the sacrifices of martyrs, the role of women, and its historical significance. He added that the Class IX-X textbook "History of Bangladesh and World Civilisation" would include chapters on enforced disappearances, killings, money laundering, destruction of the electoral system, the Pilkhana tragedy, killing of journalists and interference in the media during the Awami League regime. Students will get to study these topics from the 2027 academic year, he said. Responding to Md Shawkatul Islam, MP from Moulvibazar-2, the minister said mid-day meals would be introduced in all madrashas across the country between fiscal 2026-31 under the education ministry's SEDP programme which also covers ebtedayee madrashas. Replying to Abdul Muntakim, MP from Nilphamari-4, the minister said there are 8,229 MPO-listed madrashas in Bangladesh, comprising 5,768 dakhil, 1,284 alim, 993 fazil and 184 kamil madrashas. Answering Rafiqul Islam Khan, MP from Sirajganj-4, the minister said there are currently 1,873 registered private primary schools in the country, and there is no immediate plan to nationalise them. Replying to Obaidullah Salafi, MP from Nilphamari-3, the minister said work is under way to bring all kindergarten schools under online registration for admission processing. As of July 2026, 1,783 kindergartens have been brought under registration.  

Prof. Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam Sarder of the Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics has been appointed as the 27th Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU). The Secondary and Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education announced the appointment following approval from the President of Bangladesh, who serves as the university's chancellor. The decision was made under Section 12(1) of the Bangladesh Agricultural University Ordinance, 1961. Prof. Sarder will serve a four-year term or until he reaches the standard retirement age, whichever comes first. A veteran academic, Dr. Sarder has held several leadership roles at the institution including student affairs adviser. He was recently awarded the National Fisheries Award 2026 Gold Medal for his contributions to fisheries science and research.

The admission tests for first-year undergraduate programmes at Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) for the 2026-27 academic session will be held on January 26 and 27, 2027. The university announced the dates in a press release signed by Acting Registrar Kalam Ahmed Chowdhury on Thursday evening. He said the dates were finalized at a meeting of the university’s admission committee. Details of the test schedule, application process and unit-wise information will be announced later through a separate notice, he said. The university administration sought cooperation from all concerned to ensure smooth completion of the admission process.

Education Minister Ehsanul Haque Milon on Tuesday said the government has taken an initiative to distribute bicycles to secondary schoolgirls across the country to encourage female education. “An initiative has been undertaken to provide bicycles to encourage girls’ education at the secondary level, alongside providing a tablet to each of the 116,000 students who achieved a GPA-5, as a means of encouragement,” he said. He made these remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET) Day held at the university auditorium. The Minister said, “The government spends approximately Tk 10.75 lakh on each student. Therefore, the focus must be not only on building infrastructure but also on ensuring the proper return on this investment.” He said as part of the government’s broader plans, the Prime Minister wants to raise the current allocation for education from 3.4 percent to 5 percent in the national budget. Stressing the need for technology-oriented education, Milon called for introducing courses related to electric vehicles (EV) alongside traditional mechanical and electrical engineering. He also mentioned the need to launch modern subjects like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics at the university level, while expressing frustration over a stalled application to introduce an AI course at the University Grants Commission (UGC) for two years. The Minister also questioned the rationale behind opening new departments at the university saying, “The necessity of launching departments such as ‘Building Engineering and Construction Management’ alongside Civil Engineering, and ‘Urban and Regional Planning’ alongside Architecture, should be reviewed beforehand.” “For disciplines like Leather Engineering, laboratory facilities and existing specialized institutions in the country must also be taken into consideration,” he added. Regarding the delays in teacher recruitment he said, “The appointment of approximately 4,500 teachers is currently stalled due to complications at the Ministry of Education.” “Discussions are underway to swiftly resolve these issues and ensure the appointments,” he also said. He said in 2003, during the tenure of the then Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, four BITs were simultaneously transformed into universities, while he was working with her as the State Minister for Education. “The initiative was undertaken because the highest priority was being accorded to education,” he added. KUET Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr. Mohammad Mashud presided over the program, while Parliament Whip Rakibul Islam Bakul, MP, was present as a special guest. Every year, September 1 is observed as KUET Day or University Day, commemorating the institution's upgrade from a BIT to a full-fledged engineering and technology university on this day in 2003. To mark the day, the university organized various programs, including the hoisting of national and university flags, colorful rallies, project exhibitions, open lab sessions, sports competitions, discussion meetings, prayers, and cultural events.