The government has initiated a move to halt the teaching of general subjects in the country's government science and technology universities, focusing solely on specialised subjects.

The Ministry of Education has issued a letter instructing the cessation of teaching subjects unrelated to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in these specialised universities.

As a result, subjects such as English, Bengali, law, and BBA may be discontinued in specialised universities.

On 13 March, a letter signed by ASM Kashem, senior assistant secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education (Science and Technology Universities), was sent to the vice-chancellors of all specialised universities.

The issuance of the letter has been confirmed by officials from both the ministry and the universities.

Maulana Bhashani University of Science and Technology Vice-Chancellor Prof Anwarul Azim Akhand confirmed receiving the letter, telling the Daily Sun, "We received a letter from the Ministry of Education a few days ago, urging us to reconsider general subjects outside of specialised fields. We will discuss the matter in the academic council and decide on the next steps."

The vice chancellors of different universities have stated that the UGC approves the departments to be opened in new universities, considering the conditions set by the Ministry of Education before initiating any department.

As a result, once a department is established in a government university, it becomes difficult to close, they opined.

However, based on market demand, the department may be closed or its scope limited.

However, this cannot be done hastily. A decision should be made after a thorough discussion in the university's designated forum, they observed.

Mentionable, the Ministry of Education stated in the letter that 18 science and technology universities have been established in Bangladesh to promote and advance science and technology education.

These universities are approved to conduct education and research activities as specialised institutions focusing on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related subjects.

However, it has recently been observed that similar educational programmes are being offered in nearby science and technology universities.

Additionally, some of these universities are conducting programmes in subjects that do not align with their specialised nature.

The Ministry of Education has made four requests to science and technology universities: (1) Universities within 100 kilometres should avoid offering similar educational programmes, (2) If similar programmes already exist, they should be limited or discontinued within a reasonable time frame, (3) The curriculum should include contemporary subjects related to STEM, and (4) No subjects outside of STEM should be included in the curriculum.            

Currently, there are 55 government universities and 116 approved private universities operating across the country, with 18 of them being science and technology universities.