Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni said on Wednesday that students will be enrolled in universities through creating a national merit list after holding one admission test from the next year.   She told this to reporters after inaugurating a ‘Science Fair’ of the National University at Daulatpur College in Kushtia on Wednesday. Acknowledging some problems and limitations in the cluster system of the university admission test in 2022-2023 sessions, the minister said the problems will be addressed in future. Cluster method admission test was introduced  in 2021-22 academic year after bringing 32 public universities under it to enroll students on the basis of a merit list. Replying to a question about ragging at the educational institutions, Dipu Moni said it as a social menace and coordinated effort is needed to prevent it. She also sought cooperation from the media to address the social problem. Local lawmaker Advocate AKM Sarwar Jahan Badshah and NU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mashiur Rahman, among others, attended the event. A total of 18 science colleges participated in the fair this year.

Bangladesh University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesday stressed the need for a quick solution to the ongoing crisis over the cluster-based admission tests of 22 general and science & technology (GST) public universities. The call came from a daylong workshop held at the UGC office to face the challenges of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The Innovation Wing of UGC arranged the workshop titled "Knowledge Dominates the Period of 4IR and IoT Business Applications," said a press release. “An unexpected crisis regarding the cluster admission test has created. The authorities of the 22 universities will have to find an effective solution to this crisis,” said UGC member Prof Muhammad Alamgir while addressing the event as the chief guest. Read: Pvt universities’ permanent campuses: UGC to go tough as deadline ends on Dec 31 He said the ongoing crisis can be solved if the admission process includes student-friendly aspects and the proper use of modern technology. Dr Alamgir requested the committee concerned to take appropriate steps to complete the entire admission process smoothly soon so that the students do not suffer any untoward suffering. He suggested the vice-chancellors of the universities for making efforts to ensure that a good system like such admission test won’t face question. Talking about the 4th industrial revolution, the UGC member urged the university teachers to produce graduates suitable for the 4th industrial revolution as now it is the time for frontier technology. He said the officers and employees of higher education institutes should be trained to be adapted to the technology.  “In the 4IR era, skilled people will replace unskilled people and there will be a massive change in the type of jobs,” said Dr Alamgir. Director of the IMCT Department of the Commission Mohammad Maksudur Rahman Bhuiyan presided over the workshop, while Dean of Science and Engineering School of Canadian University of Bangladesh Prof Syed Akhtar Hossain was the resource person in the event. The admission seekers fell into a trouble as the authorities have stopped the migration process from the sixth merit list of the cluster-based test. Read: UGC set to formulate policy for new public universities Since the migration process continued till the fifth merit list, the students who got chances in more than one university now have fallen into troubles to migrate to upper tier universities even though the seats are vacant. The High Court has recently issued a rule upon the authorities concerned to explain within 10 days as to why the decision of stopping migration process should not be declared illegal.

Padma Express, bound for Dhaka, left Rajshahi Wednesday evening nearly two and a half hours after Rajshahi University (RU) admission seekers barred the train from leaving the platform, protesting the sale of tickets on the black market. The train left Rajshahi Railway Station at 6:25pm for Dhaka, Ashim Kumar Talukder, general manager of Railway's West Zone, said. "The students called off the protest after a new compartment was added to Padma Express." The RU admission test ended with the examination of "B" unit at 2pm. The aspirants blocked Padma Express around 4pm as they were told to get off the train, which already exceeded its maximum capacity, Ashim said. Protesting students alleged that many RU admission seekers were not being able to return home as extra train coaches were not arranged for them and tickets were sold on the black market. Also read: Admission seekers’ blockade snaps Dhaka’s rail link with other parts for over 3 hrs

Dhaka University (DU) on Friday held the admission test of the 'Ka' unit under the Faculty of Science for the 2021-22 academic session. The test was held at designated exam centres across the eight divisions of the country. The test began at 11am for a duration of one-and-a-half hours. "This year, we decided to hold the exams in all eight divisions of the country to minimise the sufferings of the candidates and their parents," said DU vice-chancellor Prof Akhtaruzzaman after visiting an exam centre at Curzon hall. READ: DU admission tests to start from June 3 "Pharmacy faculty dean Prof Dr Sitesh Chandra Bachar coordinating the unit exam and vice-chancellors of the respective universities helped us in this regard. I was told that the exams were held smoothly," he said. This year, 1,15,726 students had applied for 1,851 seats in the 'Ka' unit. Besides DU, the admission test was held at the University of Chittagong, the University of Rajshahi, Khulna University, University of Barishal, Bangladesh Agricultural University of Mymensingh, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology in Sylhet and Begum Rokeya University of Rangpur.

A 55-year-old man of Gazipur has proved once again that age should be no barrier to attaining any kind of goal or success in life: at this age, he wants to get admission to the University of Dhaka to fulfill his dream.  The admission seeker is Belayet Hossain, a resident of Keua Panschim Khando under Sreepur upazila of Gazipur.  Belayet passed his Higher Secondary Examination (HSC) this year and is currently attending a university coaching centre. He will sit for the admission test of the ‘Gha’ unit on June 29, under Social Science Faculty to try and gain admission to the Department of Mass Communication of Journalism.  Without formal qualifications, Belayet has been working as the Sreepur correspondent for Daily Karatoa. Now he wants to flourish his journalism career by adding first an undergraduate and then hopefully a post-graduate degree in journalism to his resume.   READ: DU admission tests to start from June 3 Belayet said he had prepared himself for Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination in 1983. However, he couldn’t sit the exam eventually due to poverty. He prepared for the SSC exam again in 1988 but the floods that year put paid to his hopes of sitting the exam. Later, he got a chance to start his career as a photojournalist.  In his personal life, he is the father of two sons and one daughter. However, his children have not shown much interest in continuing their studies. Unable to have his dreams of education fulfilled through them, Belayet at one point decided to hit the books himself.  In 2019, he passed Dakhil (equivalent to SCC) from a madrasah and then the HSC in 2021 under Technical Education Board.  His educational journey has obviously not been a straightforward one. He has endured ridicule from relatives and villagers. But Belayet paid them no heed.   “My classmates called me uncle and I would call them abbu and ammu (father and mother, affectionate terms used by elders for children).  I have had a very good experience at the school and college. I hope, I will fulfill my dream one day,” said Belayet.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Monday directed Britannia University, Cumilla, to stop admitting any new students under any of the varsity’s dubious academic programs. A notice was issued in this regard on Sunday, signed by Md Omar Faruque, Director of the Private University Division of UGC. The notice said that on a recent excursion to Cumilla, the commission found Britannia falling hopelessly short in almost criterion required by universities. The number of teachers is inadequate, it lacks qualified teachers, there is no research, it has no educational campus, the library is useless, and all its curricula are expired. Also read: Cluster admission tests to be held in 32 universities in 2021-22 session: UGC In a further shock, even the legal authority appointed by the chancellor is said to be absent. This means from the opening of Britannia University in 2017 till today - it does not have a VC , Pro VC or treasurer. According to section 18,20 of the Private University Act, 2010, syndicate and academic councils are responsible for admission, education, taking exams and publishing results of the private university. According to section 17 of the law, the Vice-Chancellor appointed by the Chancellor and the President following section 31 is the president of the syndicate and academic council. The notice said, in absence of the VC appointed by the Chancellor all the exams taken and results published of a private university will be legally invalid. Also read: UGC to bring all varsity students under digital device coverage by 2023 The syndicate and academic council of the university presided by someone else has no legal validity, it said. For this reason, Britannia University authorities have been instructed in writing to suspend the admission of new students to all programs until further notice by the Commission.

Sumaiya Moslem Meem of Khulna has secured the first position in this year's national merit list of the medical college admission test. On Tuesday noon, Health and Family planning Minister Zahid Maleque announced the MBBS admission test results for the session 2021-2022. He said that Sumaiya Moslem Meem placed first, getting 92.5 marks in the written test. Her total mark was 292.5, he said. READ: Over 55% pass MBBS admission test in Bangladesh Sumaiya Moslem Meem is the daughter of Moslem Uddin Sardar, a lecturer at Khulna’s Dumuria College. She passed her HSC exam from Khulna Government Majid Memorial City College and SSC from Dumuria Girls School. Siam of DMC Scholar, a tuition centre, claimed Meem was their student and they are very proud of her result.

The authorities have banned all kinds of electronic devices from being carried into the examination centers for the medical admission test, which will begin in Dhaka city on Friday.  The MBBS admission test for five medical colleges in Dhaka city for the 2021-2022 academic year will be held from 10:00 am to 11:00 am on Friday, April 1.  Besides, the candidates appearing for the medical admission test have been instructed to come to the center wearing masks to prevent Covid-19 infection. However, there will be arrangements to supply masks if anyone enters the exam Centre without wearing masks.  The decisions were taken from a coordination meeting of the concerned authorities taking the medical admission test with DMP Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam at DMP headquarters on Monday. A number of instructions, including those mentioned in the meeting, were adopted.  Several decisions were taken to complete the medical admission test in a transparent and smooth manner.   The medical admission test will be conducted in accordance with proper hygiene rules. Adequate police will be deployed in each center. Candidates will not be allowed to take any other paper in except the admission card for the admission test. The gate of the center will be opened at 8 in the morning. Every examinee has to enter the center by 9:30 am. The gate of the center will be closed after 9:30. At the time of entering the examination center, the bodies of all the examinees will be searched. No one will be able to keep a mobile phone except the center in-charge. In addition, there will be a mobile court in each center. READ: Medical college admission test on Apr 2 as per schedule: Minister It may be mentioned that a total of 61,678 candidates are expected to participate in the admission test in 18 centers in Dhaka Metropolitan City on Friday.  The centers are: Dhaka Medical College (9 centers): Dhaka University Faculty of Arts building; Lecture Theater Building; The Faculty of Business Studies building; Faculty of Social Sciences; Mokaram Hossain, Science Building; AF Mujibur Rahman, Math’s Building, Science Building; Kazi Motahar Hossain Bhaban; Udayan High School and Begum Badrunnesa Government Women's College, Bakshi Bazar, Dhaka.  Sir Salimullah Medical College (3 centers): Eden Mohila College, Dhaka College, and New Model Multipurpose High School, Dhaka. Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College (2 centers): Tejgaon College, Indira Road, Dhaka and Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Agargaon, Dhaka. Mugda Medical College (2 centers): Ideal School and College, Motijheel Campus, Dhaka and Ideal School and College, Mugda Campus, Dhaka.  Dhaka Dental College (2 centers): Government Titumir College, Dhaka and Government Bangla College, Mirpur, Dhaka.  The coordination meeting was attended by additional commissioners of DMP, representatives of 5 medical colleges and admission test centers, senior officials of DMP and representatives of various intelligence agencies.

In a major relief for hundreds of students, Dhaka University has decided not to scrap the 'Gha' unit entrance exams for the 2021-22 academic session. The decision was made at a meeting of the dean's committee of the prestigious varsity on Wednesday. Prof Zia Rahman, the dean of the social sciences faculty, said, "We have decided to keep the 'Gha' unit admission exams this year, considering the demands of both students and their guardians." READ: DU to resume physical classes from Feb 22 The 'Gha' unit admission tests give students an opportunity to change stream at enrolment. Asked if the exams could be scrapped in the future, Prof Zia remained evasive. "The 'gha' unit entry exams for this academic session was on the agenda of our meeting."

Jahangirnagar University (JU) has revised the dates for the entry test of the 'A' unit for the 2021-22 academic session.  According to the revised schedule, the ‘A’ unit test scheduled for November 7 will be held on November 20, while the November 8 exam will be held on November 21, the university said in a statement, signed by acting director Mohammad Mohiuddin. Also Read: Counter-protest: DU admission seekers block Dhaka-Aricha highway  The decision was taken at a emergency meeting of JU authorities on Friday night, with vice-chancellor Dr Farzana Islam in the chair.  However, the schedule of other unit of exams of the university remain unchanged.  Also Read: Villagers attack Jahangirnagar University students over cricket match dispute