Following much debate and discussion, the University Grants Commission (UGC) is planning to allow private universities to introduce PhD programmes.

The university regulatory body has already formed a committee to draft a policy to facilitate the initiative, Prof Muhammed Alamgir, UGC's acting chairman, told The Daily Star.

"The plan is still in the primary stage. The committee has already been assigned to work on it. But to finalise the draft policy, we will discuss it with relevant stakeholders," he added.

According to UGC, currently, only the 56 approved public universities in the country offer PhD programmes, while none of the 114 private universities is permitted to offer the degree.

In recent years, some private universities in the country have shown their qualities in education and research through their placements in the QS World University Rankings.

According to the latest UGC report, private university authorities have been spending a lot in the research sector, as 84 of them allocated an average of Tk 1.53 crore of their budget only for research.

For instance, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh allocated Tk 96 crore, BRAC University allocated Tk 58.83 crore, Daffodil International University Tk 15 crore, United International University Tk 11 crore, American International University-Bangladesh Tk 10.57 crore, and North South University allocated Tk 8.85 crore on research.

On the other hand, Dhaka University had allocated the highest Tk 15 crore for research among public universities.

In this context, there has been a long-standing demand to introduce PhD programmes at capable private universities.

On June 4, UGC formed the six-member committee, headed by Prof Bishwajit Chanda, to produce a draft policy on it. The committee also includes other UGC members, officials, and private university teachers.

Talking to The Daily Star, Prof Biswajit, the committee's convener and in-charge of private university division at UGC, said they were told to develop PhD coursework or research-related modules appropriate for different academic disciplines or clusters through a panel of experts.

"We already had internal meetings regarding the matter. Hopefully, soon we'll have official meetings to produce a draft policy on introducing PhD programmes at private universities. Before that, we can't discuss any further," he added.

Only institutions that meet specific standards should be permitted to run these programmes, said UGC sources.