They said increase of seats for the Honours programme in the public universities is not possible, as the regulator has suggested the universities to take austerity measures in their academic expenditures.
Dhaka University (DU) Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic) Prof Dr Nasreen Ahmad told the FE that there is no scope to increase seats for the Honours courses this academic session due to dearth of logistic support.
"Neither human resources nor the infrastructure of the country's legendary public university permits any increase in seat capacity that has already crossed the limit," Dr Ahmad said.
She said the university's watchdog even suggested halt to any recruitment this fiscal due to budgetary constraints.
Admitting that University Grants Commission (UGC) had recommended austerity measures, Director of Finance Mohammed Ibrahim Kabir said growing academic expenditures have put the government in trouble in providing the required funding for the public universities.
He said the university's watchdog even did not provide a revised budget for the universities for fiscal year 2012-2013 and the universities will have to suffer monetary shortage as a result.
"The commission recommended the public universities to follow austerity measures in their annual expenditures to tide over any monetary crisis in the ongoing fiscal," the finance director added.
When contacted, UGC chairman Prof AK Azad Chowdhury declined to make any comment saying, "We're yet to take any decision on the issue."
Education Ministry statistics showed a total of 744,891 students passed the higher secondary school certificate (HSC) and its equivalent examinations, up from 721,979 the previous year. The number of highest grade point average (GPA) holders is 58,197.
The latest UGC annual report shows a total of 39,380 students will get the opportunity to take admission at the country's 34 public universities this year, and that 18,817 highest results holders will not be able to study at these institutions.
Among the desired public universities, the admission aspirants keep Dhaka University (DU), medical colleges and Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in the list of their top choices. Their respective seat capacities are -- 6,270, around 2,000 and 850.
Jahangirnagar University has 2420 seats, Jagannath University 2,755, Chittagong University 3,619, Islamic University 1465, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology 6,482, Khulna University of Science and Technology 600, Bangladesh Agricultural University 914.
Meanwhile, the public universities are going to start admission procedures for the academic session 2013-2014. Dhaka University authority decided to start its admission process from September 12.