M M Jasim :Most of the private universities are yet to shift to their permanent campuses though the third deadline of the Education Ministry in this regard ended on September 15 this year.The private university authorities also failed for the third time to submit their compliance reports to the University Grants Commission (UGC) by September 30. The UGC officials said the universities have violated the ministry’s third time deadline and ignored the education minister’s direction. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid on August 13 asked all private universities to submit their reports, saying that action would be taken against the non-compliant universities after receipt of the reports.There are 85 private universities in the country. Some universities shifted to their own campuses. But most of the universities are yet to take effective measures to shift to the permanent campuses. The UGC officials said, only 15 universities have shifted to their own campuses and some others are partially carrying out academic activities on their campuses, while buildings of some other universities are under construction. An official of the UGC said, a number of universities did not show and headway to shift to the permanent campuses. Additional Secretary (University) of Education Ministry Mohammad Helal Uddin said they would decide on the next step after assessing the report which the UGC would submit. The UGC sources said that it would submit the report after getting all the information. The Private University Act 2010 requires universities to move to their own campuses in seven years after establishment. The act stipulates that Contd on page-11- Col-1a university must own a permanent campus on an acre of land in the capital or two acres outside the capital in seven years of its operation.In January 2014, the Education Ministry asked the private universities, which missed two deadlines to move to their permanent campuses, to comply with the directive by September 15, 2015.But it was found that most of the universities would not be able to go to their permanent campuses in this period. They have only completed their responsibilities by purchasing lands. The government in December 2010 warned the errant private universities that their academic activities would be stopped if they failed to move to their own campuses by October 2011.In January 2012, the government again gave the private universities one more year for the second time to move to permanent campuses.
