Academics in Bangladesh fear new rules to centralise research funding under the University Grants Commission (UGC) will slow down projects and undermine institutional autonomy, with work in STEM seen as now more likely to gain support.

Under the changes, scholars will apply directly to the UGC, the country’s statutory higher education regulator, replacing the former system where the body allocated funding to each university to distribute as they saw fit.

The UGC has said Tk 226 crore (£13.7 million) has been allocated for research at public universities in the 2026-27 fiscal year, which it said is 13 per cent higher than last year.

The government has said managing research grants centrally will improve quality and accountability, while also helping to align research outcomes with national industry priorities.

ߣߣ��Ƶ

But some academics in the country disagree. Mohammad Rashed Alam Bhuiyan, an associate professor in the department of political science at the University of Dhaka, told ߣߣ��Ƶ that the UGC decision meant the autonomy of universities “has reduced”.

He said he feared the new process would introduce some “bureaucratic hassles”, with the UGC likely to demand more information on research and budget plans than universities had previously. He also predicted that it would take the UGC longer to distribute the money, which will delay the delivery of research projects. 

ߣߣ��Ƶ

“I think the earlier structure was far better, particularly for the implementation of the research,” said Bhuiyan.

Shantanu Majumder, another professor in Dhaka’s department of political science, disagreed that the proposed new system would “make a significant difference” for academic staff at an administrative level.

A far bigger concern, Majumder said, was that funding would not be distributed fairly.

“Political identity should not be a criterion for receiving this fund,” he said.

ߣߣ��Ƶ

“I think all disciplines should be treated with equal importance. By that I mean we should not place a disproportionate priority on one discipline, one faculty.

“Last time I visited the United States in late 2023, I saw that all they were talking about was STEM…Here we are talking about some kinds of science and technology, but what about the other issues? Humanities, social science, business?”

It is this tension over whether some disciplines will be privileged over others – Majumder contrasts oceanography with human rights as an example – that sits uneasily with several academics.

Aminul Haque, a professor at the department of population sciences also at Dhaka, told ߣߣ��Ƶ that “no one is happy with this change”. He said that the UGC may not have capacity to handle the volume of research funding proposals under the new system.

ߣߣ��Ƶ

“If teachers will have to apply to the UGC for scholarship and for research funding, then it will be problematic because the UGC does not have the manpower to handle all the teachers of Bangladesh and to evaluate their proposals.”

The UGC said that it has sent letters to all public universities at the start of July, asking them to submit their research plans and budget estimates as soon as possible.

ߣߣ��Ƶ

The UGC was contacted for comment.

rosalind.skillen@timeshighereducation.com