Graft At Universities: Empower UGC to take legal action

University Grants Commission wants power to take actions against irregularities and corruption in universities if probes find evidence to substantiate the allegations.

The commission hopes to have such power since the education ministry on most occasions doesn't take actions even after submission of UGC probe reports that find allegations of irregularities and corruption to be true.

"It is important for the commission to have the power to take legal action against irregularities in the recruitment of university teachers, admission of more students than seats available, financial irregularities, certificate trade, and irregularities in development projects of universities," the UGC said in its annual report for 2021.

A UGC delegation, led by its Chairman Prof Kazi Shahidullah, submitted the report to President Abdul Hamid at the Bangabhaban last night, UGC member Prof Muhammed Alamgir told The Daily Star.

The report made a set of recommendations.

"Everybody wants effective steps be taken based on the findings of probe reports. What is the benefit of conducting investigations if the recommendations are not implemented? If things don't change, UGC officials might lose interest in investigating. Again, people will say that probes are carried out just for show as no actions are taken," Alamgir said.

After conducting several investigations into allegations of irregularities and corruption at universities, the commission found the allegations to be true and recommended taking actions against the vice-chancellors concerned and others. But the recommendations apparently fell on deaf ears as the education ministry has so far let most of those VCs go unpunished.

Over the last two years, the commission submitted at least seven probe reports on corruption and irregularities to Rajshahi University (RU), Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University (BSMRSTU) in Gopalganj, Begum Rokeya University in Rangpur, Khulna Agricultural University (KAU), Jahangirnagar University and Islamic Arabic University.

The VCs of RU, NSTU, and Begum Rokeya University completed their tenures without facing any punishment even though the UGC recommended taking actions against them.

Only the BSMRSTU VC resigned in September 2019 in the wake of student protests.

The only actions the education ministry took so far are stopping recruitments to the RU and Khulna Agricultural University after probes found anomalies, education ministry officials told The Daily Star.

"Such inaction against the VCs is disappointing. It sends a wrong signal to the authorities concerned, and it's a kind of impunity," said a UGC member.

Asked about the commission's allegation of inaction, Abu Yousuf Miah, additional secretary (university) of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, refused to comment without seeing the UGC annual report.

"But I can say that the allegation is not true for the period of last six months as I joined my current position six months ago," he added.

The UGC annual report 2021 said that national media carried many news reports on nepotism and corruption in appointment of teachers and staffers to public universities. It tarnishes the image of higher education institutions and the government.

The regulatory body recommended formation of an independent recruitment commission for appointing teachers and staffers at public universities to ensure transparency.

Speaking at the Dhaka University's 53rd convocation on November 19 last year, President Hamid said, a vice-chancellor is supposed to supervise the administrative and academic activities of a university. "In recent times, sadly, various news reports claim that the main responsibility of some vice-chancellors is to provide jobs to family members and their loyalists, and to take administrative and financial benefits in various ways."

The UGC in the new report suggested forming an implementable policy to appoint VCs, pro-VCs and treasurers from renowned academics on the basis of UGC opinion. Currently, the UGC has no say in the appointment of top administrators to public universities.

A number of private universities don't hold meetings of boards of trustees, syndicates, finance committees and academic councils. Many don't even have VCs, pro-VCs and treasurers approved by the chancellor. Moreover, many do not submit audit reports to the education ministry. As a result, Private University Act-2010 is being violated, said the new report.

The commission also recommended closing evening, weekend and executive courses at public universities as they negatively impact universities' image.

It, however, said universities can run diploma and short courses and vocational training after taking approval from the UGC and following specific policies.

The report suggested that the government should create an endowment fund to provide education loan to university students, and have a ranking of universities.

The government can take effective steps to formulate a policy to determine the land size for setting up campuses of the newly established universities, it added.

According to the UGC report, the tendency to launch educational programmes without having minimum infrastructure, laboratories and teaching staffs at newly established universities raises question about the quality of higher education. The government and the UGC can take initiatives to formulate a specific policy fixing the time for those universities to start educational activities.

There are 158 universities, including 50 public ones, in the country. Six of the private universities are yet to start academic activities, show UGC data.

There are 44.41 lakh students, including 20.65 lakh females, at the university level. The private universities have 3.10 lakh students, including 95,017 females.