Ahmed Abdullah Azad

It came as a shock to many that no Bangladeshi university made it to the top 417 in Asia in the latest Times Higher Education ranking. This, however, should not have come as a surprise as international competitiveness of Bangladesh’s best universities has been declining over the years as reflected in previous rankings.

It is not very often that we hear about groundbreaking scientific advances in Bangladesh. So, reports in The Daily Star on two successive mornings about two exciting discoveries were very special.

Recently the government took a significant step to transform the existing University Grants Commission (UGC) into an autonomous Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Now that the dust has temporarily settled from the recent agitation for reform of the quota system in government jobs, it is time to calmly reflect on the next steps needed to establish a system that is fair and equitable and makes best use of the potential in our youth.