15 lakh university seats vacant against 6 lakh prospective students: Education minister

Around 15 lakh seats are vacant across public and private universities in Bangladesh, while the number of prospective university students this year is estimated at around 6 lakh, Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon said today (14 November).

Speaking at an event at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Building of Dhaka University, he said there is no need for leading institutions such as DU, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) and medical colleges to delay their admission processes, as students who fail to secure places there will have ample opportunities at other universities.

The minister urged universities to conduct their admission tests as soon as possible, saying the government wants to address the session backlog.

“I am not asking you [Buet, DU and medical colleges] to wait for the referred students, as there are plenty of vacant seats in our universities where they can get admitted,” he said at the event organised for the 42nd annual conference of the Bangladesh Chemical Society.

Milon acknowledged that this year’s Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and equivalent exam results are unsatisfactory, with only 52% of students clearing them. 

He said universities are already opening admission opportunities and should proceed with their admission tests without unnecessary delays.

He added that he has held a meeting with vice-chancellors and decided to facilitate the re-evaluation of examination scripts.

The re-evaluation process began on 7 November and is scheduled to conclude on 23 November, with the results expected to be published the same day, he said.

The minister said the DU vice-chancellor has decided to accept admission applications until 25 November. He said he will request the VC to extend the deadline by a few more days so that students whose results improve after re-evaluation can also apply.

Recalling his previous tenure as education minister from 2001 to 2006, Milon said he found irregularities in examination script evaluation, including instances of script replacement and inconsistencies in marking, back then.

However, he said the government at the time could not take action because the Examination Act of 1980 did not authorise the re-evaluation of examination scripts.

“This year, we amended the 1980 law in parliament and passed a new law in 2026. Through this law, the authority to re-evaluate examination scripts has now been established,” he said.

Referring to this year’s SSC examination results, the minister said the re-evaluation process changed the grades of around 45,000 students.

Of them, nearly 5,000 students who had initially failed subsequently passed, while the GPA of 3,079 students improved, he noted.

Describing the changes as significant, Milon said he expects the ongoing re-evaluation to bring further improvements and wanted to ensure that students benefiting from the process can pursue higher education this year.

The minister also stressed the need to eliminate session backlogs in universities, drawing on his own experience as a DU student.

“DU is my alma mater. I spent the longest period of my life here. It took me more than eight years to complete a four-year course,” he said.

He said a four-year degree programme must be completed within four years and a five-year programme within five years, adding that any delay beyond the stipulated period should be considered an administrative failure.