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Published : 17 Jun 2026, 04:27 PM
Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon has offered fresh hope over Jagannath University's long-standing demand for a second campus.
The minister says he expects work on the project to move faster if the matter is discussed with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
He recalled a discussion with the education secretary who joked that they might turn into fossils before the second campus materialises, to which Milon countered that prime ministerial intervention would wrap up the project quickly, adding that the administration aims to complete at least one residential hall within a year.
Milon said Jagannath University would receive the government's "favourable attention", noting that the nearby Bangladesh Bank quarters could provide room for expansion.
He said decades-old buildings could be demolished without issue if needed, calling the university a historic institution for its pioneering role in movements and struggles.
The university held its first-ever Dean's Award ceremony at its central auditorium that afternoon, where the minister had been speaking.
A total of 104 students from across the university's four academic years, representing every department and institute, received the Dean's Award for achieving the highest Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in their undergraduate studies.
Among the recipients were 21 students from the Faculty of Arts, 16 from Business Studies, 15 from Science, 17 from Social Science, 29 from Life and Earth Science, three from Law and three from Fine Arts.
At the event, Milon said it is the university's duty to recognise its students, adding that those honoured with the Dean's Award would feel inspired to excel academically while contributing to society.
On turning the country's population into a productive workforce, he said many developed nations faced population shortages while Bangladesh's birth rate outpaced its death rate.
He called the large population an asset that teachers could help convert into human capital, stressing the need for technical education alongside higher education.
The minister said the then BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia had given top priority to education, adding that efforts are under way to safeguard the education system despite attempts by several quarters to weaken it.
He noted that the prime minister has allocated 5 percent of the national budget to the education sector, which will bring a “positive change” to the future educational landscape.
Education Secretary Abdul Khalek praised the teachers as “the nation's best and most exemplary”, saying his own child listened to them more than to him.
He said the government has made its best possible allocation for the university's second campus and is in talks with the vice-chancellor over increasing it further, pledging to do everything within its capacity for them.
