That makes the doctorate degrees they conferred on the students until now unrecognised



The Ministry of Education released a statement to this end on Wednesday.



There are 77 private universities in the country approved by the ministry and the University Grants Commission (UGC).



There are allegations that some of these universities confer PhDs in a short time for a good deal of money aside from their ‘certificate business’.



Education Secretary Nazrul Islam Khan ordered issuance of the statement Wednesday after the ministry received letters where it was asked to scrutinise the PhDs of several persons, said an official.



The senior ministry official, who asked not to be named, told bdnews24.com that most of those PhD holders were government officers.



“PhDs can help to get promotions and other facilities on the job. That’s why it was alleged that many were getting the degree for this.”



The official confirmed that the PhDs conferred by the private universities were not recognised in Bangladesh. “The universities that have awarded the PhDs will face action.”

The ministry also said no foreign universities were given the approval to open a branch in Bangladesh or run their curriculums in collaboration with any local university.



Neither are foreign universities allowed to run PhD programmes through distance learning or with the help of any private university in Bangladesh, it added.



“The PhDs conferred on the students until now have no legal validity.”