Govt approves two new private univs

The government has approved two more private universities, raising their number to 103 in the country.

The new universities are International Standard University in Mohakhali in the capital and Trust University in Barisal.

The education ministry's secondary and higher education directorate issued an order yesterday, giving the temporary approval of the universities.

Engineer AKM Mosharaf Hossain is the patron of the International Standard University, while Qazi Shafiqul Alam is the patron of the university in Barisal. Details of the duo could not be known.

The approval comes at a time when the government is struggling to streamline some of the existing private universities, which are reportedly functioning without meeting some of the criteria laid down in the Private University Act-2010.

Besides, there were questions over the standard of education in some of these universities.

Over the last eight years, the government has approved more than 50 private universities, many of them allegedly on political consideration.

An official of the education ministry said a few more private universities are waiting to get approval in the last year of the government.

Since the beginning of their journey in 1992, private universities have been playing a significant role in accommodating a large number of students pursuing higher education. Some of them provide high-quality education and maintain a global standard.

But there are some universities which are still running without complying with the act. For example, the act makes it compulsory for a private university to have a permanent campus within five years of launching. But more than two dozens of universities could not move to their own campuses despite several warnings from the government.