Public university admission tests to begin next February

Admission tests for the first-year honours courses of the 2026-27 academic year at the country's public universities will begin next February. Students will be able to apply from January.

University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Professor Dr Mamun Ahmed shared the information at a press conference on Monday (9 November), after a meeting with the vice-chancellors of public universities at the UGC.

At the press conference, the UGC chairman said the meeting had reached unanimous and coordinated decisions on students' interests, the admission test schedule, the publication of HSC supplementary examination results and the admission process.

He said the universities would fix and announce their own test dates through mutual discussion.

The UGC chairman said the vice-chancellors had been asked to keep the upcoming holy month of Ramadan in mind while fixing the admission test schedule.

He said, 'Universities that have already announced admission test dates have been urged to reconsider their schedules, keeping national interest and students' convenience in mind. Emphasis has been placed on ensuring that there is no clash in the universities' test dates. We want students to get the chance to sit for tests at more than one university.'

He advised that necessary steps be taken so academic activities are not harmed even if the tests are delayed a little, adding that the UGC would extend full cooperation to the universities in this regard.

On the evaluation of this year's HSC and equivalent examination results, Dr Mamun Ahmed said, 'In 2025, more than seven lakh students passed, while in 2026 that number has come down to a little over six lakh. Because the answer scripts were evaluated properly this year, many did not get the results they expected. The government's aim is to publish the re-evaluation and supplementary examination results by 31 December. Those who pass will also get the chance to sit for the admission tests.'

He also said the vice-chancellors had been asked to fix the GPA requirement for admission applications after considering the total number of students who passed and the total number of seats.

On the question pattern, the UGC chairman said the admission tests this academic year would be held in the multiple-choice question (MCQ) format, as in previous years. But he added that it was necessary to test students' subject knowledge, analytical ability and problem-solving skills, not only memorised knowledge. Discussions were held on whether subject-based and analytical questions could be added alongside MCQs from the next academic year (2027-28), and a later decision would be taken on the basis of the universities' preparation and opinions.

A proposal to form a 'central coordination committee' comprising representatives of the UGC, the education ministry and the universities was discussed at the meeting, to keep the admission process consistent through the year. The committee would coordinate the overall admission test schedule and work on how the admission process could be planned earlier from next year.

The UGC chairman also presented a picture of the country's higher education seats. At present there are about 180 public and private universities in the country, he said. Public universities have about 63,000 seats. In addition, the National University, the Islamic Arabic University and other affiliated institutions have more than one million seats, and private universities have about four lakh seats.

On university autonomy, he said, 'We are fully respectful of the laws and autonomy of the universities. The UGC will only play the role of a helper and coordinator, and will not impose any decision. We believe that, with the vice-chancellors' mutual cooperation, this year's admission tests will be more orderly and student-friendly.'