Proposed Dhaka Central University to hold both online and on-campus classes

The proposed Dhaka Central University, which includes seven government colleges in the capital, will follow a hybrid model -- 40 percent of classes will be held online, and the remaining in person.

All exams, however, will be conducted in person.

Officials from the education ministry shared the latest updates at a press briefing held at the Secretariat around 11:00am today.

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An ordinance to formally establish the Dhaka Central University is expected within this year, they said.

Md Mojibur Rahman, acting secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division; Prof SMA Faiz, chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC); Prof Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan, member of the UGC; and Prof AKM Elias, principal of Dhaka College and also the interim administrator for the seven colleges; described the plan at the briefing.

According to the plan, the School of Science will be based at Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, and Begum Badrunnessa Government Mohila College. The School of Arts and Humanities will be based at Government Bangla College, and the School of Business will be at Government Titumir College. The School of Law and Justice will be based at Kabi Nazrul Government College and Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College.

All students will study general (non-major) courses in their first four semesters. In the next four semesters, they will take major courses in their chosen fields. In the fifth semester, students may apply to change their subject area if they meet certain conditions, but they will not be allowed to switch campuses.

The location for the university's permanent main campus has not been finalised, but officials said it will be situated at a location convenient for all students.

For now, this year's admission will take place under the existing system. The colleges will continue to run their Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) programmes while education cadre officials will remain in place. Once the university is fully established, teachers for the university level will be appointed according to university regulations.

The seven colleges were previously under the National University. On February 17, 2017, they were brought under Dhaka University. Since then, students of these colleges have repeatedly protested over delays in exams and results, and other academic issues. Over time, their demands grew stronger.

In January this year, Dhaka University announced that it would no longer continue affiliation with these colleges. Following this, the government decided to form a new public university for the students.

All academic activities of the university will be carried out under the guidance of an Academic Council, Senate, and Syndicate.

The Dhaka Central University will also appoint a proctor. In addition, each college will have two deputy proctors -- one male and one female. As a result, there will be 14 deputy proctors in the seven colleges.