The Ministry of Education has ordered to contain the first-year admission tests in the cluster system in 24 universities of the country.
The ministry has sent a letter in this regard to the vice-chancellors of all universities included in the cluster systems on Monday.
The letter signed by the ministry's joint secretary Sharmina Nasrin said that from 2020, the country's general, agriculture, engineering and science and technology universities under government have started the cluster admission process at the undergraduate (honors) level. In the last 2023-24 academic year, 24 universities conducted the cluster admission process.
The ministry says that recently, some universities included in the cluster have ignored the request of the Ministry of Education and have taken separate admission processes on their own initiative.
The ministry believes that in the current situation, if the cluster admission system is abandoned and admission tests are conducted separately, it will create additional pressure and confusion for students and guardians.
The letter also mentions that a delegation of general students seeking admission to the university recently held a meeting with the chairman and members of the Bangladesh University Grants Commission and strongly demanded the continuation of the cluster system. The letter instructs the vice-chancellors of the universities in the cluster to strictly follow the cluster system admission process, considering the interests and demands of about 5 lakh students seeking admission for the 2024-25 academic year.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
