UGC to Launch Third-Language Learning Centers at 30 Universities

The Bangladesh University Grants Commission (UGC) has taken the initiative to introduce third-language learning programmes at 30 public and private universities across the country. The initiative aims to enhance students’ multilingual skills alongside Bangla and English, make them more competitive in the international job market and contribute to national workforce development. The commission is working to launch the programme by January 2027. To ensure that no region across the country’s eight divisions remains outside the programme, the committee responsible for selecting universities, determining languages, and mapping resources and locations has been reconstituted. The programme will be implemented by considering regional workforce demand, local interest, institutional capacity and existing infrastructure. UGC Chairman Professor Dr Mamun Ahmed made the remarks while chairing a meeting on the third-language education initiative at the commission on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by UGC members Professor Dr Masuma Habib, Professor Dr Abdullah Al-Mamun, Professor Md Mehedi Hasan Khan, Professor Dr Md Aslam Hossain, Professor Dr Niaz Ahmed, UGC Secretary Dr Md Fakhrul Islam and heads of various divisions of the commission. The UGC chairman said the government has decided to introduce eight third languages alongside Bangla and English, taking into account national priorities and future labour market demands. The initiative is expected to strengthen students’ language and professional skills, improve their international communication abilities and create new employment opportunities at home and abroad. It will also play an important role in developing a skilled and qualified workforce. He said that, in the initial phase, new language learning centres will be established at 30 public and private universities, while existing centres will be modernised by enhancing their capacity and infrastructure. University selection will take into account regional workforce demand, public interest and the potential of both regional and international labour markets.

Dr Mamun Ahmed said that data from the Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) and other relevant sources will be analysed to identify which languages are in greater demand in different regions. Based on those findings, demand-driven language selection and a realistic university-based implementation plan will be prepared. The programme plans to include Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish and Italian. During the meeting, priority was given to introducing Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Italian in the initial phase. However, the final decision on which language courses will be offered at each university will depend on regional demand, institutional capacity, available personnel and infrastructure.

The meeting was informed that 10 universities in the country currently have language learning centres, with the University of Dhaka offering the highest number of languages, at 13. The UGC will review the capacity, courses, instructors, staffing structure and infrastructure of existing language centres while also assessing the need for establishing new centres.