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.
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 Times Higher Education that the UGC decision meant the autonomy of universities “has reduced”.
