Universities must innovate, not just issue degrees
Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon today said an integrated effort is needed from universities and all relevant stakeholders to make the country's higher education world-standard and to protect innovative intellectual property.
“Universities should not be just a means of awarding degrees but should be developed as centres of excellence. At the same time, special emphasis should be given to research," he said.
He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a meeting at the Bangladesh University Grants Commission (UGC) Auditorium in city’s Agargaon area this morning, marking the 'World Intellectual Property Day-2026'.
The theme of the day this year is 'IP and Sports: Ready, Set, Innovate'.
At the event, Milon said, "We are lagging behind in the international intellectual property index. We must be vigilant that our innovations and creativity are not registered in other countries. We must encourage innovators by removing administrative complexity of intellectual property registration."
He proposed organising competitions on intellectual property among universities and awarding the best innovators at the state level.
The education minister said a large number of talented people are leaving the country and this 'brain drain' needs to be stopped and a 'reverse brain' policy needs to be taken.
However, he said, many are still returning from abroad but that statistics need to be further enriched.
Highlighting the limitations of the curriculum, Milon said: "Public universities are lagging far behind in industry-academia linkage or integration of industry and educational institutions. In many cases, it is seen that whatever subjects or courses are being introduced, which are of no use to students in the real workplace. Our course curriculum must be market-oriented.”
He stressed increasing the allocation for research in the budget of universities and said work is underway to achieve the target of five percent of GDP allocation, set by the incumbent government, in the education sector.
Mentioning the lack of coordination in higher education, the minister said a long time is being wasted in the admission process in universities after the SSC and HSC examinations.
Asking the UGC to sit with all universities and create a ‘uniform’ admission calendar, he said due to lack of coordination, valuable time is being lost from the lives of students and this wastage of time must be stopped.
About quality of education in private universities, Milon said private universities should not be seen only as commercial institutions but the quality of education must be ensured.
The UGC should closely monitor this issue so that private universities can play a vital role in higher education without any hindrance, he said.
Expressing concern over the excessive use of social media and moral degradation of the young generation, the education minister said it is very important to maintain respect and morality for teachers.
Necessary changes are being made in the curriculum to transform the youth into skilled human resources, he said.
UGC Chairman Professor Dr Mamun Ahmed presided over the meeting, while UGC Secretary Dr Md Fakhrul Islam delivered the welcome speech.
BUET’s chemical engineering professor Dr Mohidus Samad Khan gave a keynote address. BRAC University Vice Chancellor Professor Syed Ferhat Anwar spoke at the meeting as main discussant.
UGC member Prof Dr Masuma and vice-chancellors and teachers and officials of different universities were present.
