Universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

represent about 150 academic bodies of the conventional higher education institution (HEI) in

. Segmented by management and financial structure, these include 43 public universities, 103 private universities, 3 international universities, 31 specialized colleges, and 2 special universities. There are specialized universities in both categories offering courses principally in technological studies, medical studies, business studies and Islamic studies. There are two private universities dedicated solely to female students. The number of universities is growing mostly in and around the capital city of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...

. There are about 1688 colleges organized under the umbrella of

Bangladesh National University The National University of Bangladesh ( bn, জাতীয় বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, বাংলাদেশ ) is a public university of Bangladesh that was established by an Act of Parliament as an affiliating University ...

— one of the largest in the world. The

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

offers distance learning courses. There is a parallel religious high-ed education system. And amongst private higher education institutions, the Universal College Bangladesh is the pioneer of bringing together world's best universities such as Monash College Pathway program and London School of Economics and Political Science in Bangladesh, where you can obtain foreign degree from the Dhaka city campus. The University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) is the regulatory body of all the public (government funded) and private universities of Bangladesh. The Private University Act of 1992 paved the way for vigorous sprouting of private universities. 80% of its universities are in their infancy. There is a severed shortage in higher education capacity. The country is yet to have any

research and education network A national research and education network (NREN) is a specialised internet service provider dedicated to supporting the needs of the research and education communities within a country. It is usually distinguished by support for a high-speed backb ...

(REN) or

digital library A digital library, also called an online library, an internet library, a digital repository, or a digital collection is an online database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital documents, or other digital ...

consortium (DLC).

Public universities

Bangladesh has 53 public universities instructing the bulk of higher studies students. They that are funded by the government and managed as self-governed government institutions.

Private universities

Private universities in Bangladesh came into being after institution of the Private University Act of 1992. As of 2019, over 103 of them had started. These universities follow an open credit system.

Criticism and controversy

There has been much controversy around the private universities and their practices. Eleven universities went operational without a UGC approval which was made a necessity under the Private University Act (1992). Twenty-seven private universities were found running without a vice-chancellor. Ten universities were issued a deadline of one year from the UGC to improve qualities. Eight universities the UGC of Bangladesh recommended for shutting down due to poor quality of academic standards. Some were served with show-cause notice by judicial authorities asking why it would not be closed down. At least eleven private universities introduced new academic courses without UGC approval. Others were found to deliver instructions in unauthorized courses and have illegal campuses.

Other universities and specialized colleges

Bangladesh Open University The Bangladesh Open University ( bn, বাংলাদেশ উন্মুক্ত বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) or BOU is a public university with its main campus in Board Bazar, Gazipur District, Dhaka Division. It is the Lis ...

References

External links