Parliament passes Private University Bill 2010

Parliament Sunday passed a bill providing detailed rules for establishing private university, its
proper management and expanding quality education in the country, reports agencies.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid moved the Private University Bill, 2010 which was adopted
by voice votes abolishing the Private University Bill, 1992.Addressing the Jatiya Sangsad before
passing the bill, the education minister said the new law appeared necessary to ensure quality
education in the private universities to create skilled manpower.

Under the law, the government would form an independent National Accreditation Council (NAC) to
look into the implementation of the objectives of the law.

No institution or campus could be established at a location where the government disallows any
such construction in the greater interest of environment protection, security and public interests, it
said.

A private university would be open for all people irrespective of caste, creed and colour, gender as
well as for the physically disabled people for higher studies.

According to the new bill, there must be minimum one acre of undisputed and integrated land in
the name of a proposed private university in Dhaka and Chittagong metropolis and minimum two
acres of land in other districts.

Minimum reserve fund of Tk 50 million in the name of a proposed private university in Dhaka and
Chittagong, Tk 30 million for other metropolitan areas and Tk 15 million in other places must be
deposited in a scheduled bank.

For getting temporary permission from the government, a proposed private university needs to
fulfill certain criteria which include formation of a Trustee Board with maximum 21 and minimum 9
members, and have adequate number of class rooms, library, laboratory, auditorium, seminar
room, office room, student's common room and other required rooms and infrastructures.

Besides, the proposed private university will require 25,000 sq ft of space in own building or
rented building. The proposed university will have at least three faculties under which there will be
at least six departments.

The private university will prepare a plan of its academic activities to be approved by the
University Grants Commission (UGC). The proposed university will have to appoint full-time
competent teachers for each department, programme or course, and the number of such teachers
will be fixed by the Commission.

If any teacher wants to be appointed in a proposed private university he must have no-objection
certificate from his original appointee and submit it to the Commission.

Every private university must have Board of Trustees, Syndicate, Academic Council, Faculty,
Institute, Curriculum Committee, Finance Committee, Teacher Appointment Committee and
Discipline Committee.

Without prior permission of the government, no foreign national or institution can establish
campus for foreign university or institution in any place of the country.

Moreover, any graduation, post-graduation, diploma or certificate course under any foreign
university or institution can not be conducted or certificates of those degrees or courses can not be
distributed.

Under the bill, any unregistered private university will not be allowed to open branch campus,
study centre or tutorial centre of any foreign university/institution for admission of students or
publish any brochure, prospectus, leaflet etc or give advertisements on print or electronic media.

The syndicate, headed by the Vice-chancellor, would look into the academic, administrative and
general management of the institution and suggest on tuition fee of students and salaries

of teachers and staffs to the trustee board, the law said.

The new law said the tuition fee and salary structure of teachers and staffs should be approved by
the UGC, which is also entitled to investigate into any violation of the law for which one has to
suffer at least five years imprisonment and Tk 1.0 million penalty or both.