A draft ordinance for the proposed “Dhaka Central University,” built around the seven government colleges of the capital, has been unveiled, detailing the academic structure, curriculum, and governance framework for the new institution.

According to the draft, the Dhaka Central University Ordinance 2025 will soon be formally enacted, establishing the university as an autonomous institution by detaching the seven colleges from their current affiliation with Dhaka University. 

The initiative aims to improve the quality of higher education, expand access to modern knowledge, and align Bangladesh’s tertiary education system with global standards.

University Structure and Governance

The ordinance proposes that the university operate across seven academic campuses—each corresponding to one of the seven colleges—while administrative facilities, including the Vice-Chancellor’s office, student-teacher centre, auditorium, and health centre, will be housed in a separate location.

Classes will follow a blended learning model, with 35–40 percent of lectures held online and the remainder in person. All examinations will take place on campus. Students will complete non-major courses in their first four semesters (up to the second year) before selecting a major discipline from the fifth semester onward. They may change their discipline at that stage if conditions are met, but campus transfers will not be allowed.

Academic Schools and Campus-Wise Departments

The draft divides the university’s academic programmes into four schools, distributing disciplines across the seven campuses as follows:

School of Science – Operating across Dhaka College, Eden Mohila College, and Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College.

Dhaka College: Applied Mathematics, Zoology, Data Science, Biochemistry, Biotechnology

Eden Mohila College: Physics, Applied Chemistry, Botany, Forensic Science

Begum Badrunnesa Government Women’s College: Psychology, Environmental Management

School of Arts and Humanities – Based at Government Bangla College, offering Journalism and Communication Studies, Development Studies, Economics, Film Studies, and International Politics.

School of Business – Located at Government Titumir College, with programmes in Accounting, Human Resource Management, Hotel and Hospitality Management, Marketing and Sales, and Bank and Insurance Management.

School of Law and Justice – Spread across Kabi Nazrul Government College and Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College.

Kabi Nazrul Government College: Law

Shaheed Suhrawardy College: Criminology

The university will be led by a Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Treasurer, Syndicate, and Academic Council, forming its statutory governing bodies. Classes will be conducted between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily using the existing infrastructure of the colleges.

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