Finally, the general, science and technology (GST) cluster for admission tests has broken down. The cluster admission test for the new academic year is starting from 25 April without four universities that were previously under this system. On the other hand, the engineering cluster has been completely abolished.

The Ministry of Education has requested the universities in this regard several times, but not all universities have responded. Although they cited the decision of the academic councils as the reason for their withdrawal, in reality, the universities want to conduct separate tests mainly due to huge financial gains, said sources.

According to University Grants Commission sources, the GST-based cluster admission test started from the academic year 2021-22 to ease the hardships of students and guardians. For the first time, 20 government universities in the country participated in this process. Later, 24 general and science and technology universities took the admission tests in this process. However, several universities have been trying to get out of this process for the past few years due to several reasons, including the long process of admission tests in the clusters.

Although they were not successful due to the insistence of the previous government, seven universities announced to leave the cluster and conduct the test in their own system immediately after the fall of the fascist Awami League government last year. The current government gave these universities several notices in this regard, but they did not respond. In the last meeting, all universities except four decided to remain in the cluster.

There are currently 55 public universities in the country. Admission tests are conducted in these universities in three clusters. The cluster admission test conducted with 24 general universities is called GST (General, Science and Technology).

In addition, the “Engineering Cluster” test is conducted with three engineering universities and the “Agriculture Cluster” test is conducted with eight agricultural universities. And big universities like Dhaka, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Rajshahi University, Chittagong University and Jahangirnagar University have not come under this system.

This year, not all universities are participating in the cluster system. This time, four universities have left the General, Science and Technology (GST) cluster and all engineering universities have left the cluster. In addition, the agricultural cluster universities have not yet completed the admission process for the last academic year.

According to the GST-listed cluster admission test committee, 20 universities have agreed to participate in the 2024-25 academic year. Four universities are not participating this time in accordance with the decision of the academic councils. The universities that did not participate include Jagannath University, Khulna University, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and Comilla University. The last meeting in this regard was held at the UGC on Tuesday to get the opinions of all universities. UGC Chairman Professor SMA Faiz, member Professor Tanjimuddin Khan, Maulana Bhashani University of Science and Technology Vice-Chancellor and Cluster Admission Test Committee convener Professor Anwarul Azim Akhand, along with the vice-chancellors of all universities, were present there. The decisions regarding staying in the cluster were made in that meeting.

Comilla University Vice Chancellor Professor Haider Ali told the Daily Sun, “There is an issue of income in the admission test, but we are not leaving the group for the sake of income. As per the decision of our academic council, we are not staying in the group. All the stakeholders of the university have taken this decision together. We have taken this decision to ensure the quality of the students.”

Sources said that initially seven universities tried to leave the cluster. However, at the request of the government, Barishal University, Hajee Mohammad Danesh University of Science and Technology and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman University of Science and Technology, Gopalganj finally decided to stay in the cluster.

Money prioritised over students’ convenience

Among the universities that left the cluster, Jagannath University started the admission test with its Faculty of Fine Arts exam last Friday. SUST ended the admission application process on 31 January. The university will hold the admission test on 28 February. Applications will be accepted at Khulna University until February 10. The admission test will be held on 17 April. Admission application has started at Comilla University from 2 February. It will continue until 22 February. The test will be held on 19 April.

 It has been found that Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) was the first to withdraw from the engineering cluster. Following them, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) and Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) were also withdrawn. KUET was the first to withdraw from the cluster and issued an admission notice on 17 November. The university also conducted the admission test on 11 January.

Meanwhile, students repeatedly surrounded the UGC building to maintain the cluster system. The UGC has managed the situation by recommending the reinstatement of the cluster system to the Ministry of Education. But despite repeated letters from Education Advisor Wahiduddin Mahmud, the universities have not responded.

There are allegations that despite the government’s instructions, the universities talk about their own laws, academic council decisions and uniqueness as the reason for not remaining in the cluster, but in reality they want to conduct separate exams mainly because of huge financial profits.

Every year, universities earn a lot of money by selling admission exam forms. And a large amount of this huge income is received by teachers and other people involved in admissions. In terms of income, Jagannath University and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science & Technology University are at the top. That is why they initially wanted to get out of this system when Dhaka University did not come in the cluster. Every year they tried to get out of the cluster. However, in the end, they could not due to pressure from the government.

Sources said that the interim government’s education adviser Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud has requested the vice-chancellors to follow the cluster examination system for admissions in the upcoming academic year, but ignoring his request, universities are leaving the cluster. This has angered students seeking admission.

Students said that conducting the exams separately will not only increase the suffering and cost, but will also disrupt their preparation. Students have submitted a memorandum to the education adviser and chief adviser demanding the continuation of the cluster admission test. The date of the cluster admission test has already been announced.

 According to the information of the cluster admission committee, the admission application fee and when it will start have not been decided yet. However, the date has been fixed. In the upcoming 2024-25 academic year, the admission test for the “C” unit of the business education branch will be held on 25 April, the “B” unit for humanities students will be held on 2 May, and the science branch will be held on 9 May.

When asked about this, Education Adviser Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud said, “Letters have been sent to universities three times to remain in the cluster, but the universities are not cooperating. The government will be strict in this regard. How much money the universities spent on admissions while they were in the integrated admission process; how much money they are earning after leaving the cluster will be taken into account. This calculation will be taken through the University Grants Commission (UGC).”

UGC Chairman Prof SMA Faiz told the Daily Sun that most universities have agreed to remain in clusters in the last meeting. A few universities are not able to remain for their own reasons. The UGC is working to keep all universities in clusters. However, it is unfortunate that some universities are only thinking about themselves instead of thinking about the welfare of all students.

2 universities earn about TK21.86 crore as application fee

The four universities that left the cluster have started the process of taking separate admission tests. Jagannath University has already taken the tests, and SUST will take the test on 28 February. The admission test will be held at 5 centers across the country.

The application process is underway at Comilla University and Khulna University. These universities have earned several crores of taka from the admission applications. The majority of the income is received by the people involved in the admission process, including teachers. Those involved in the admission process said that even after excluding the exam question papers and management costs, there will be crores of taka left.

According to Jagannath University sources, over Tk1.93 lakh students applied against 2,815 seats in five units for the 2024-25 academic year. As many as 40,000 students in each unit will get the opportunity to participate in the examination. This time the university’s initial application fee has been set at Tk100. And after the initial application verification, the final application fee for Tk40,000 students in each unit has been set at Tk700. That is, out of 1,93 lakh students, 1.60 lakh candidates in four units will participate in the admission test. And 1,375 students participated in its Faculty of Fine Arts entry test.

According to the admission committee, in the current academic year, Jagannath University has received around Tk13.23 crore

According to admission committee sources, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) has set the admission application fee for the next academic year at Tk1,000. Accordingly, the university has earned Tk8.63 crore from the application fee alone this time.