UGC Chairman Prof Dr Mamun Ahmed spoke at BRAC CDM in Savar during the two-day national policy dialogue. Photo : UGC

SAVAR, August 21, 2026 (BSS) - University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Professor Dr Mamun Ahmed today said ensuring quality higher education, enhancing students’ skills and preparing graduates for employment were essential amid a significant increase in the number of higher education students and institutions in recent years.
He said a significant number of young people were still unable to find employment after completing higher education, while employers were also struggling to find graduates with the required skills.

He was addressing the ‘Vice-Chancellors' Dialogue: Shaping the Future of Higher Education’, a two-day national policy dialogue, organised under the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) Project of the University Grants Commission (UGC) at BRAC CDM in Savar on the outskirts of the capital.

“On the one hand, employers are not getting people with the required skills, while on the other hand, highly educated young people are being deprived of job opportunities,” he said.

Prof Mamun said the gap could be reduced by making necessary changes to university curricula, teaching methods and assessment systems.

“We have to take our higher education to global standards,” said Prof Mamun.

He said the commission was preparing a five-year strategic plan for the sustainable transformation of higher education.

“If implemented successfully, it will bring visible changes in the quality of higher education and research in the country,” he said.

Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Education and Primary and Mass Education Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Mahdi Amin, Secondary and Higher Education Division Secretary Abdul Khalek, former UGC Chairman Professor Dr S M A Faiz, UGC member Professor Dr. Abdullah-Al-Mamun and vice-chancellors of public and private universities, among others, attended the programme.

The two-day dialogue has brought together vice-chancellors of around 65 public and private universities, policymakers, academics and experts to discuss strategic leadership and governance, quality teaching and assessment, research and innovation, university-industry collaboration, artificial intelligence and digital transformation.

Four sessions were held on the first day, with the remaining sessions scheduled for Saturday. Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Haque Milon is scheduled to attend the concluding session.