CHITTAGONG UNIVERSITY, Aug 8, 2026 (BSS) - The 36th annual Senate meeting of Chittagong University (CU) has approved a revised budget of Tk 489.99 crore for the 2025-26 fiscal and an original budget of Tk 503.47 crore for the 2026-27 fiscal.

The meeting began at 11:00 am today at the Vice-Chancellor's Office at Dr. A. R. Mallik Bhaban (Administrative Building), with Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Mohammad Al-Forkan in the chair.

Prof Forkan said the university administration is working to modernize education, research, infrastructure and administrative activities to transform CU into a world-class university. Outcome-Based Education (OBE) and a uniform semester system have been introduced in all departments and institutes of the university from the 2025-26 academic year.

He said Tk 10 crore has been allocated for research grants for teachers through the CU Research Cell in the 2025-26 fiscal, while Tk 67 lakh has been allocated for MPhil and other areas. Funding for PhD and master's theses is also continuing. A proposal seeking Tk 29 crore from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for research grants has been submitted for the next fiscal year.

The Vice-Chancellor said two project proposals are awaiting approval from the Planning Commission. One involves establishing a Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) at a cost of Tk 49 crore 33 lakh and 67 thousands, while the other involves academic and infrastructural development and enhancement of research capacity at a cost of Tk 678 crore 14 lakh and 54 thousands.

He said various infrastructures, including a TSC, women's hall, academic buildings, research complex, Senate building, administrative building, water treatment plant, groundwater reservoir, sewage treatment plant (STP) and electrical substation, will be constructed under these projects.

Besides, he said, DPPs for two more development projects, costing around Tk 3000 crore have been prepared to build a student-friendly campus.

Under these projects, there are plans to construct 10 residential halls, residential facilities for foreign students and researchers, academic buildings, a Blue Economy Research Centre, a central museum, a second library building, a stadium, swimming pool, modern laboratories, a 50-bed hospital, daycare centre, walkways, food court and wet market, among other facilities.

The Vice-Chancellor further said eight sub-projects, involving Tk 29 crore 74 lakh and 81 thousands, are currently being implemented at CU under the Higher Education Acceleration and Transformation (HEAT) project being implemented by the UGC with funding from the World Bank and the Bangladesh government. In the second round, the university has submitted 52 more proposals.

As part of modernizing education and services, initiatives are underway to introduce high-capacity Wi-Fi, an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor-based dashboard, security cameras and real-time information technology services. Examination-related activities have also been brought under automation. Besides, there are plans to establish a modern 50-bed medical centre.

CU Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) Prof. Dr. Mohammed Al-Amin and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Admin) Prof. Dr. Md. Safiqul Islam delivered welcome addresses at the meeting. They emphasized improving the quality of education and research, developing skilled human resources, administrative decentralization, and ensuring transparency and accountability.

Members of Parliament Sarwar Jamal Nizam, Ershad Ullah, Gias Uddin Quader Chowdhury and Sayeed Al Noman took part in the discussion on the Vice-Chancellor's speech and the budget. Besides, MP Mohammad Abu Sufian and other members of the Senate participated in the discussion.