The government’s recent decision to review the Dhaka Central University Ordinance, 2026, involving seven government colleges in Dhaka city is an opportunity to take effective steps to improve quality of education in these colleges, observe academics.

Instead of following the National University model, the government should establish Dhaka Central University as an example of quality education, they also suggest.

Education and primary and mass education minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon on February 25 said that they would review the ordinance, which was issued by the past interim government.

At a result publishing ceremony, Ehsanul also said that they would form a committee to review whether the ordinance was rushed or not.

The seven colleges are — Dhaka College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College, Eden Mohila College, Government Bangla College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Government Titumir College and Kabi Nazrul Government College.

Just four days before the 13th Jatiya Sangsad elections, the past interim government issued the ordinance on February 8 and appointed a vice-chancellor two days before the elections though the discussion on these colleges continued for past several years.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party formed government on February 17 after winning a two-thirds majority in the elections.

As per the ordinance, these colleges will be affiliated with the new university as ‘attached’ institutions and will continue their operations by maintaining their current individuality, characteristics, infrastructure, properties and other facilities.

Before this, on September 24 past year, the education ministry published the draft of the Dhaka Central University Ordinance, 2025 in its web site, seeking opinions from the stakeholders.

As per the draft, the university was supposed to be an inter-disciplinary university having four schools — school of sciences, school of arts and humanities, school of business and school of law and justice — divided in these colleges.

Rejecting the structure of the draft, a group of students and teachers of these colleges started holding protest programmes for keeping the colleges as the way these were and threatened not to operate any activities of the proposed university.

Later the interim government met their demand by approving the National University model.

‘Demand for another National University model for these colleges is not justified,’ said Abed Chaudhury, a prominent scientist and the chair of the Grant for Advance Research in Education programme by the education ministry during the interim government’s tenure.

He said that the new university should present something new to improve the quality of education in these colleges.

‘Another National University should not be built,’ he said, urging the government to review the ordinance thoroughly.

These colleges had been affiliated with Dhaka University since 2017 before which they were under National University. The change was made following session congestion, delay in examinations and administrative standstill situations under National University.

Since 2019, students from these colleges had started street protest against poor evaluation of their exam papers by DU examiners and other discriminations.

On January 27, 2025, Dhaka University decided to cancel the affiliation of the seven colleges in the face of a long-standing tertiary-level student movement for a separate university for the seven colleges over the allegation that the DU authorities failed to run them properly.

On March 16 past year, decision was made to name the new university Dhaka Central University.

Dhaka University’s Institute of Education and Research associate professor Mohammad Mahboob Morshed said that at first it should be determined why a new university was necessary.

He alleged that it seemed that the ordinance had been formed hurriedly to meet interest and demand of different influential quarters.

‘Other than securing a university certificate, I do not know what objectives for improving and changing the quality of higher education will be realised by following a previous model for this new university,’ he asked.

Mahboob Morshed also said that the government should prepare these colleges by appointing skilled teachers and changing curriculum at first.

‘We do not know the details,’ chairman of the Bangladesh University Grants Commission professor SMA Faiz remarked about the education minister’s decision on reviewing the ordinance.

He expressed hope that if the minister wants any change regarding the ordinance, everything will be cleared following discussions.

According to the UGC, in December 2024 a four-member committee had been formed to resolve the issue of the seven colleges and the committee was reconstituted in January 2025.

The committee held 13 meetings between January 7 and February 9 past year with the colleges’ teachers and students, Dhaka University’s teachers and administrative officials and journalists.

The committee members also visited different colleges from February 26 to May 13 past year.