Until the establishment of a new university, the academic operations of seven government colleges in Dhaka will continue under a unified structure supervised by the University Grants Commission (UGC). Professor AKM Elias, the recently retired principal of Dhaka College, has been appointed as the interim administrator for this transitional period.
The government has issued a notification on Sunday, reappointing him as the principal of Dhaka College on a two-year contractual basis, after which he will assume the role of administrator. The interim administrative headquarters will be based at Dhaka College.
This information was confirmed by sources at the UGC and relevant authorities. The Ministry of Public Administration issued the notification on Sunday, appointing Professor Elias as principal since his regular tenure had ended.
The seven government colleges in Dhaka are: Dhaka College, Eden Women’s College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, Kazi Nazrul Government College, Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College, Government Bangla College, and Government Titumir College. These institutions collectively have nearly 200,000 students and over 1,000 teachers.
Previously, these colleges were affiliated with the National University before being brought under Dhaka University on February 17, 2017. However, students have been protesting intermittently over delays in examinations, result publications, and other issues.
Over eight years, minor problems accumulated into major grievances, prompting Dhaka University to announce in January its decision to disaffiliate the seven colleges following student demonstrations.
The government has now decided to establish a new university, tentatively named Dhaka Central University, which will operate under a hybrid model — 40% online and 60% in-person classes. Unlike the current system where each college offers all subjects, the new university will organise faculties across multiple colleges.
Students of the seven colleges have threatened renewed protests if the interim administration was not formalised. On Saturday, they warned that if the notification was not issued by Sunday, they would resume demonstrations starting Monday. Additionally, they demanded the release of the Dhaka Central University framework and logo within five working days and the issuance of the university ordinance within 30 working days.