A total of 35 public universities will hold cluster admission tests for the current 2023-24 academic session, compared to 32 universities in the academic year 2022-23.
The three new universities that will join the system are Kurigram Agriculture University, Sunamganj University of Science and Technology and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman University of Science and Technology in Pirojpur.
This unanimous decision came in a meeting on the cluster-based entry tests for public universities at the UGC building on Sunday.
Chaired by UGC Chairman (Additional Charge) Prof Dr Muhammad Alamgir, vice chancellors of 32 public universities of agricultural and scientific and technology clusters were present in the meeting.
Since the date of the cluster`s admission exam has already been announced, the vice chancellors of the universities that make up the engineering cluster were not invited to this meeting.
According to Prof. Alamgir, the UGC works to preserve the autonomy and individuality of institutions rather than trying to force its will on any one of them.
Additionally, he stated that taking part in cluster admission tests will not compromise the qualities of public colleges.
In order to guarantee financial transparency, the UGC chairman also recommended the creation of a committee to decide when the cluster institutions` admission exams should be held.
Furthermore, he said that the National Testing Authority (NTA) will shortly form a group to develop a framework for providing a single admission exam to all universities.
Following the discussion, the vice chancellors stated that setting up cluster admission test is not a problem. The prime minister, the president, and the minister of education plan to take the cluster system admission exam. They also mentioned the cluster admission test system as a tried-and-true effective technique.
In addition, they stated that everyone must work together to resolve any issues arising from the cluster entrance test.
Moreover, the vice chancellors pushed the UGC to take the lead in merging all universities into the system.
