Bangladesh University Grants Commission Chairman (Additional Duties) Prof. Muhammad Alamgir.

Besides, he said that proper planning and implementation is necessary to achieve qualitative changes and specific goals in the field of higher education.

He made this call as the chief guest at a day-long workshop organized by UGC on Thursday at Chittagong University conference room.

The workshop was held on monitoring and evidence management of the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) activities of public universities for the fiscal year 2023-2024 and reviewing and providing feedback on the draft action plan for the fiscal year 2024-2025.

UGC Secretary Dr. Chaired by Ferdous Zaman, special guest speech was given by Chittagong University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Md. Abu Taher. Besides, Chittagong University Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Prof. Benu Kumar Dey and Vice-Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Dr. Md. Sekander Chowdhury.

In the speech of the chief guest, Professor Alamgir said that there is discrimination in different higher education institutions and other levels of education in the country. He advised the concerned to take necessary initiatives to produce skilled graduates through quality improvement of education.

He also said that in many cases in higher education, due to lack of proper planning, it is not possible to implement the activities on time. As a result, stakeholders are being deprived of its benefits and the government's expenditure is increasing due to delayed implementation. Therefore, he felt that bringing about qualitative changes in education requires contemporary planning and systematic changes.

At the same time, he expressed the opinion that importance should be given to various aspects of frontier technology including artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, to meet the needs of the age, to build digital infrastructure in the university.

CHBI Vice-Chancellor Prof. Abu Taher said that the proper implementation of the Annual Performance Agreement is important for achieving sustainable development and building a developed Bangladesh by 2041. He said that APA is playing an effective role in ensuring transparency, accountability and good governance in higher education institutions of the country.

UGC Secretary Dr. Ferdous Zaman said UGC is taking effective steps to ensure quality education and increase cooperation in education and research. He urged the concerned focal points to be sincere in the implementation of APA.

Additional Director of UGC and Focal Point of APA Bishnu Mallik conducted the workshop and concerned officials including convenor, focal point of APA Committee of 9 public universities of UGC, Chittagong and Sylhet region participated.