Staff Reporter :
University Grants Commission (UGC) on Tuesday suggested that all public universities cut down the duration of the academic year and vacations to make up for academic losses due to the Covid-19 situation.
The regulatory body of universities in a Covid-19 recovery plan also asked the universities to reduce the number of lectures while ensuring that the entire syllabus is completed.
UGC, in the guideline sent to all public universities on Tuesday, said that the duration of the existing academic calendar of the university should be reduced in an acceptable way.
It proposed that various holidays like summer, winter and festival vacations can be reduced to complete the final examinations, class tests, assignments and quizzes for all subjects including practical classes.
Preparatory leave before final exams, the gap between exams of two subjects, and the gap between the year and semester, can be reduced, it said.
The duration of each theoretical and practical class will remain the same as at present.
After accepting the recovery plan and approving it by the Academic Council, students should be informed at the beginning of the academic year, the plan should be published on the university website, and all necessary steps should be taken to implement the prepared academic calendar, UGC suggested.
UGC took such a step when most public universities are holding online classes, as they could not take in-person classes since March 17 last year when the
government closed all educational institutions due to the pandemic.
The closure has been extended till June 30 this year in phases.
According to UGC, there are 49 public universities in the country. About 3 lakh students are studying at these universities sans National University, Islamic University and Bangladesh Open University.
UGC has allowed all universities to take in-person examinations for undergraduate and master’s degrees amid strict following of Covid-19 health guideline in late May this year.
