Education Minister Dipu Moni on Thursday said some of the newly established public universities do not have their own campus yet.

She also said that professors of the old universities do not want to go to new universities.

The Education Minister said this while speaking at the passage of Mujibnagar University, Meherpur Bill, 2023 in Parliament.

Stating that there are 53 public universities in the country, the Education Minister said that the most recently established universities have no place of their own so far.

“The construction work has not begun. Apart from that, there are some completely new ones. There is no professor rank except vice-chancellor and treasurer.”

She said that no one with the rank of professor from the old university wants to go to the new university.

“Lecturers are appointed as teachers there, it will take another 15 years for them to become professors. But it is not that research opportunities have been created in the new universities. We have to accept that reality.”

Dipu Moni admitted that research in all universities is not the same. She said that the standards and interest in research are not the same in all universities.

“University is not for practising knowledge, but for creating knowledge. The way to create that knowledge is research.”

She said that the government has opened honours indiscriminately due to the interest of public representatives.

“If the students are not of honours standard the teacher may not be of honours standard either. But we have opened honours courses,” she said.

In the discussion of public opinion, the Education Minister said that she is working to increase efficiency.

“70 percent of our higher education students go to national universities in 2,257 colleges across the country.”

Participating in the discussion on public opinion, Jatiya Party MP Shamim Haider Patwari demanded the establishment of an expatriate university.He said that eight to 10 lakh people go abroad every year.

Read more: New curriculum books may contain mistakes: Dipu Moni

“What has the education system provided for them? Didn't do anything. Didn't even teach them the language.”

“Passport and immigration knowledge is not given. We need expatriate universities. Where the sons and daughters of expatriates will study? And they will get the knowledge of what they will do abroad.”

Patwari claimed that no research has been done on how much manpower is needed in a sector of the country.

“We have not done any global research. How many lorry drivers are needed all over the world, how many nurses are needed, even how many are needed in our country.”

Claiming that European Union is interested in talent partnership with Bangladesh, he said: “We should go for talent partnership. If we don't do this and create only graduates, they will wander around the world as unemployed.”

He said that education was, is and will be the backbone of the nation. A country that has no resources such as oil and gas people are the wealth of that country.

“Educating them and making them skilled is wealth. From there we are giving more focus to bricks, stones while considering bridges, culverts as the backbone of the nation. Education and skills should be the backbone of the nation.”

Jatiya Party’s Pir Fazlur Rahman said that the tenure of the 11th parliament is coming to an end. The education minister repeatedly told the parliament that she would appeal against the decision to exclude Members of Parliament from the post of president of higher secondary colleges.

“Appeals will be made, hearings will be held, listening to that the whole term of this Parliament is coming to an end.”