Private university certificates not signed by vice-chancellors (VCs) appointed by the President will be illegal as per the law, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has said.  Certificates, cheques and other documents signed by VCs who have completed their four-year tenure would also be considered illegal, it has said.
The UGC has also said 18 private universities did not have VCs, Pro-VCs and treasurers at some point in time. As per the Private University Act 2010, the President appoints the VC, Pro-VC and treasurer of each private university for four years. The President is the Chancellor of the universities.
The UGC, the statutory apex body in the field of higher education in Bangladesh, has said that it is against the law to appoint acting VC, Pro-VC and treasurer. According to the UGC, the 18 universities that did not have VCs, Pro-VCs and treasurers appointed by the President are the Asian University of Bangladesh (since 2009), People’s University of Bangladesh (since April 2016), Premier University (since 2014), IBAIS University (since 2012), University of South Asia (since January 2016), Royal University (since 2009), East Delta University (since 2013), German University of Bangladesh (since March 2016), Ishakha International University Bangladesh, ZH Shikdar University of Science and Technology, North Western University, Notre Dame University, Rajshahi Science and Technology University, Ranada Prasad Saha University, CCN University of Science and Technology, Army University of Engineering and Technology, Army University of Science and Technology and the Bangladesh Army International University of Science and Technology (since its opening).
UGC sources said they would publish a circular so that students, guardians and people concerned examine the pros and cons before seeking admission to such universities.
The commission said as per Provision 31(2) of Private University Act 2010, the VC is the chief executive and academic officer of a university. The UGC said several directives have been issued to these private universities to appoint VC, Pro-VC and treasurer, but no steps have been taken so far. This has caused the problem over certificate of students of these universities.
Jesmin Pervin, deputy director of the Private University Division of the UGC, said: “We have told these private universities to appoint VC, Pro-VC and treasurer, but no pragmatic steps have been taken. The commission has decided that the main certificate not having the signature of the VC appointed by the President would be illegal.”  But she said they had not written to these universities regarding the illegality of certificates not signed by the VC. They only directed the universities to appoint VC, Pro-VC and treasurer in accordance with the law.
Prof. Muhammad Saiful Islam, registrar of the Asian University of Bangladesh, told The Independent that they did not have a VC appointed by the President right now. “We’ve sent a nomination to the government for the appointment of VC. We didn’t get any letter from the UGC about certificates not signed by the VC,” he said. He, however, claimed that since the Board of Trustees (BoT) is the executive authority of the private university, it can appoint a VC on a temporary basis. But Provision 16(9) of the Private University Act, 2010 only states that the BoT can submit names for of the posts of VC, Pro-VC and treasurer under provisions 31, 32 and 33, respectively. Prof. Abdul Mannan, chairman of the UGC, told The Independent that when certificates are issued without the signature of a VC appointed by the President, these are illegal as per the law.
“We’ve been asking the private universities to appoint VC, Pro-VC and treasurer as per the law, but they didn’t take the matter seriously. Certificates have to be signed by the VC and controller. But we don’t want to destroy the career of students. We’ll think about the matter. We’ll ask the education ministry to take further steps in this regard. We’ll publish an advertisement to make the students and guardians aware so that they don’t face any such problems in future,” he said. The UGC only wants to implement the law, it does not have any ill intention, Prof. Mannan added.