Research is widely considered one of the core responsibilities and functions of higher education institutions worldwide. But Bangladesh’s universities have long lagged in fostering this culture of global knowledge production. Only about 1.5 percent of the annual budgets allocated to public universities for operational and development activities is earmarked for research, according to data from Bangladesh’s University Grants Commission (UGC). A review of UGC annual reports shows that, despite the already modest allocation, many universities fail to utilise the full amount each year. Some institutions have not even spent BDT 5 million on research in a single year.

For the current 2025–26 fiscal year, the UGC approved a budget of approximately BDT 132.22 billion for the country’s 57 public universities. Of this amount, around BDT 1.9 billion was allocated to research, representing just 1.44 percent of the total budget.

In the FY 2024–25, the approved budget for 55 universities stood at BDT 116.90 billion, with around BDT 1.88 billion allocated to research. That amounted to 1.61 percent of the total budget.

Research allocations in earlier fiscal years were similarly low. Research received 1.41 percent of the total budget in 2023–24, 1.43 percent in 2022–23, and 1 percent in 2021–22.

The review also shows that the largest budget allocation goes to University of Dhaka, which also receives the highest research allocation among public universities. Even there, however, research funding has remained around only 2 percent of the total budget over the past several fiscal years.

For the 2025–26 fiscal year, the approved budget for the University of Dhaka was nearly BDT 10.35 billion, of which BDT 215.7 million was allocated to research, just 2.08 percent of the total budget.

In 2024–25, the UGC allocated around BDT 8.04 billion to the university, including BDT 200 million for research. Research funding accounted for 2.48 percent of the total budget that year.

In 2023–24, the university’s syndicate approved a budget of around BDT 9.13 billion, with only BDT 150.5 million allocated to research, representing 1.64 percent of the total budget.

Regarding research funding, Professor Dr Abdus Salam, pro-vice chancellor (education) of University of Dhaka, said: “The current budget is highly inadequate compared to the university’s research potential. Despite having talented faculty members, students, and numerous research ideas, many of them cannot be implemented due to financial constraints. Increasing allocations for research is therefore essential. Effective measures are also needed to ensure the proper utilisation of these funds.”

Asked about the university’s plans to expand research opportunities and increase research funding, he said, “Efforts are underway to transform the University of Dhaka into a research-oriented university. Priority is being given to research in areas such as the environment, technology, human resource development, and the economy. But meaningful progress in research requires adequate funding, stronger industry-academia collaboration, and the establishment of a permanent research fund. We have capable and talented researchers, but without sufficient financial support, advancement in research won’t be possible.”

Many universities are unable to utilise the research funds allocated to them each year. The latest annual report published by the UGC provides expenditure data for universities across different sectors for the 2022–23 fiscal year. The report shows that University of Rajshahi and Islamic University lag in research spending.

During that fiscal year, the University of Rajshahi was allocated BDT 100.2 million for research. But the university was able to spend only BDT 64.9 million, leaving approximately 35.23 percent of the research allocation unutilised.

Professor Dr ABM Hamidul Haque, director of the Central Science Research Laboratory at the University of Rajshahi, told Bonik Barta, “Increasing the research budget is essential for advancing genuine research. Due to budget constraints, even after purchasing necessary research equipment, sufficient funds are often unavailable for maintenance. A larger budget would make it possible to improve the procurement, preservation, and management of research equipment in a more modern and effective manner.”

“Insufficient research funding is contributing to brain drain from the country. The government needs to give greater attention to this issue. Researchers should focus more on contemporary issues and topics of national importance,” he further added.

On the other hand, more than 50 percent of the research allocation at Islamic University remained unspent. During the 2022–23 fiscal year, the university received BDT 14.2 million for research but spent only BDT 7 million.

Despite being an engineering-focused institution, Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET) left nearly 70 percent of its research allocation unutilised in the same fiscal year. The university’s total research allocation was BDT 22.2 million, but it managed to spend only BDT 7 million.

The largest amount of unspent research funding in the 2022–23 fiscal year was recorded at National University. The university received BDT 50.2 million for research but spent only BDT 5.8 million, equivalent to just 11.6 percent of the total allocation.

A similar situation was observed at Bangladesh Open University. Although it was allocated BDT 25.2 million for research, it spent only BDT 3.2 million.

More than 25 percent of research allocations remained unspent at Bangladesh Medical University and Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) during the same fiscal year.

Bangladesh’s agricultural universities have achieved notable success in research, including the development of new crop varieties. But stakeholders believe that both research activities and funding remain insufficient.

Professor Dr Md Hammadur Rahman, director of the Bangladesh Agricultural University Research System (BAURES) at Bangladesh Agricultural University, said, “Less than 2 percent of the university budget is allocated to research, which is insufficient for conducting research activities properly. With the current allocation, I can provide funding to only about 160 faculty members. But around 350 teachers should ideally receive research support. Many postgraduate and PhD students are conducting research using their own resources or with assistance from their supervisors. So, research funding should at least be increased to a minimum level that ensures quality research.”

Regarding the level of funding required to improve research standards and ensure high-quality research, he said: “Even to provide a minimum acceptable level of research funding, around 5 percent of the budget is needed. If we want to provide adequate support for research, the allocation should be about 10 percent.”

The limited allocation, meanwhile, for research in universities is also having an impact on international rankings. Research is one of the key indicators used in the formulation of global university rankings. In the latest rankings published by Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings, no university from Bangladesh has managed to secure a place within the top 500.

In the QS rankings, the University of Dhaka is the highest-ranked university from Bangladesh, placed at 585th position. In the Times Higher Education rankings, Jahangirnagar University and the University of Dhaka jointly hold the top position among public universities in the country, both falling within the 801–1000 band.

Regarding the insufficient research allocation in public universities, Professor Dr Mohammad Ali Zinnah of the Institute of Education and Research at the University of Dhaka said:
“Our universities’ research budgets aren’t only insufficient, but there’s also a lack of an enabling environment for research. The rules governing research funding are also not research-friendly. There’s a significant mismatch between fund disbursement procedures and the actual field-level needs of research activities. If we truly want to improve the situation, we must increase allocations and ensure a research-friendly environment.”

Efforts were made last night to contact the chairman of the UGC regarding the inadequate research allocation in public universities, but his comments were not available until the time of writing this report.