New research funding rules leave public university academics unhappy

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has introduced a major change in the way research funding is allocated in the budgets of Bangladesh’s public universities.

Under the new policy, research grants will no longer be transferred directly to university authorities. Instead, the funds will be administered through the UGC.

The new arrangement has drawn criticism from the authorities and faculty members of leading universities, including the University of Dhaka. They argue that the policy will undermine academic freedom and create additional bureaucratic hurdles.

University of Dhaka Vice-Chancellor ABM Obaidul Islam believes that placing research funding under UGC control will reduce research at universities.

“Perhaps only a handful of people will continue conducting research, but regular research activities will come to a halt,” he told Prothom Alo. “This decision will also undermine the academic autonomy of universities. Therefore, it should not be implemented.”

He said he is scheduled to meet UGC Chairman Mamun Ahmed on 9 July to discuss research funding and other issues, where he will present the university’s position.

The UGC is the country’s statutory higher education regulator, responsible for coordinating between the government and universities. It currently oversees 59 public universities. Government grants for these institutions are channelled through the UGC.

According to the UGC’s 2023 annual report, the commission provided nearly Tk 49.95 billion in grants to public universities during the 2022-23 fiscal year.

For the 2026-27 fiscal year, the University of Dhaka has been approved a budget of Tk 10.33 billion, of which the government, through the UGC, is providing Tk 9.49 billion. This accounts for about 92 per cent of the university’s annual expenditure. The university expects to generate Tk 850 million from its own sources, leaving a budget deficit of Tk 838.5 million.

The country’s oldest university has long faced criticism over inadequate research funding. During the interim government’s tenure, the UGC allocated Tk 210 million for research at the University of Dhaka in the 2025-26 fiscal year. However, citing the new policy, it has not allocated any research funding to the university this year.

At the university’s Senate budget session on 29 June, Treasurer Jahangir Alam Chowdhury asked the government’s representative, “Did you seek the opinion of the University of Dhaka before deciding on this new research funding arrangement?”

In response, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Education Sharmina Nasrin, who attended the meeting as the government’s representative, said it was a government decision.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on 2 July, Sharmina Nasrin said, “The decision to administer research funding centrally through the UGC has been implemented from this fiscal year as a government policy. The grants have not been discontinued, only the allocation process has changed. This may also be a pilot initiative.”

She added that it remains to be seen how the policy will ultimately evolve.

On 3 July, the UGC issued a clarification regarding research funding for public universities. It said Tk 2.26 billion has been allocated for research across all public universities in the 2026-27 fiscal year—about 13 per cent higher than the previous year.

According to the UGC, following the government’s decision to eliminate duplication in research funding, the financing process for research projects has been made simpler, more transparent and more researcher-friendly. It maintained that the new system would not undermine universities’ academic autonomy, institutional identity, research priorities or disciplinary diversity.

The commission also said it had written to all public universities on 2 July, requesting them to promptly submit their research plans, sector-wise funding requirements and budget estimates for the current fiscal year.

A senior UGC official, speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, said the Ministry of Finance had decided that research funding would now be distributed centrally through the commission.

“The ministry’s argument is that fragmented allocation creates various problems. There was also some discomfort within the UGC about assuming responsibility for managing these funds. However, the commission will make every effort to ensure transparent allocation without unnecessary bureaucratic complications,” the official said.

A source at the Ministry of Education said the UGC has managed its own research fund effectively in recent years, whereas allegations have emerged that research allocations at several universities have not been properly utilised. This is one of the main reasons behind the decision to centralise funding.

Prothom Alo spoke with the authorities of the University of Chittagong and the University of Rajshahi about the issue.

University of Chittagong Vice-Chancellor Mohammad Al-Forkan said, “We, too, were surprised by this decision. We hope the matter can be resolved through discussion.”

He noted that vice-chancellors are scheduled to meet the UGC chairman on 9 July to discuss research funding and other budget-related issues.

Rajshahi University Treasurer Professor Md Matiar Rahman also believes that keeping research funding under the UGC’s direct control will negatively affect university research.

At the University of Dhaka Senate session, Senate member Professor Samina Luthfa opposed the new policy. Speaking to Prothom Alo on 2 July, she said, “We are being told that this year’s national budget contains the highest allocation for education in the country’s history. So why is research funding being centralised?”

Faculty members at other universities have also expressed dissatisfaction.

Professor Md Ilias Hossain, chairman of the Department of Economics at Rajshahi University, said that each faculty has committees responsible for evaluating research proposals.

“These committees ensure proper assessment of research quality while keeping costs under control. The question remains: to what extent will bureaucrats be able to evaluate research proposals?” he said.

The quality of research conducted at Bangladesh’s public universities has often come under scrutiny, with allegations of plagiarism surfacing on various occasions. Nevertheless, both research output and publications have increased in recent years, and many Bangladeshi researchers have gained international recognition.

According to the latest data from Scopus, the world’s largest peer-reviewed citation and abstract database, the number of Scopus-indexed publications produced by Bangladeshi universities has exceeded 18,000. The country’s research publications increased by about 21 per cent in 2025 compared with 2024.

In September 2025, Stanford University and the Netherlands-based publisher Elsevier published their list of the world’s leading researchers. The list included 35 Bangladeshi academics and researchers, all of whom are affiliated with the University of Dhaka.

On 30 May, three Bangladeshi scientists were named among Asia’s Top 100 Scientists by the Singapore-based journal Asian Scientist. They included Mohammad Abbas Uddin Shiyak of the Bangladesh University of Textiles (BUTEX), Marjana Akter, an alumna of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and Bangladesh Agricultural University, and Tahmeed Ahmed, executive director of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).

Professor Hasina Khan, a UGC professor who led the research that decoded the genomes of hilsa and jute and served for many years as a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Dhaka, said the new funding system could be assessed if it is indeed a pilot initiative.

“If the decision to channel university research grants through the UGC is experimental, then it can be tried and its outcomes evaluated,” she told Prothom Alo. “As long as universities retain their academic autonomy in conducting research, the government may also provide certain policy directions.”