Public university teachers raise concerns at meeting with Dipu Moni

Public universities’ teachers associations differed with University Grants Commission’s (UGC) plan to introduce an up-to-date policy on recruitment and promotion of public university teachers.

At a meeting with Education Minister Dipu Moni and top officials of UGC in the capital, teachers said that if the policy comes into being, many meritorious students will not be interested in teaching at engineering universities and it will be problematic for the autonomy of public universities.

The policy is widely known as uniform policy on recruitment and promotion of public university teachers.

“A number of teachers, especially from technical universities, differed with the plan of UGC,” said a teacher who attended the closed-door meeting at International Mother Language Institute yesterday.

He said that teachers of technical universities argued that now a graduate can get appointment at technical and engineering universities as their post graduation course is two years long. But the new policy said that teacher candidates at technical and engineering universities must have a post-graduation degree.

Thus many meritorious students will go abroad to attain post-grad degree instead of becoming teachers and they will not return, teachers said at the meeting.

Dipu Moni after listening to the discussion said UGC and the ministry will hold meetings with teachers in October and after that they would finalise the policy.

At a separate meeting with vice chancellors of public universities, Dipu Moni also informed them that the policy will be finalised after VCs give their opinions.