University of Dhaka

On the first day of July 1921 the University of Dhaka opened its doors to students with Sir P.J. Hartog as the first Vice-Chancellor of the University. The University was set up in a picturesque part of the city known as Ramna on 600 acres of land.

The University started its activities with 3 Faculties,12 Departments, 60 teachers, 877 students and 3 dormitories (Halls of Residence) for the students. At present the University consists of 13 Faculties, 83 Departments, 12 Institutes, 20 residential halls, 3 hostels and more than 56 Research Centres. The number of students and teachers has risen to about 37018 and 1992 respectively.The main purpose of the University was to create new areas of knowledge and disseminate this knowledge to the society through its students. Since its inception the University has a distinct character of having distinguished scholars as faculties who have enriched the global pool of knowledge by making notable contributions in the fields of teaching and research.

The high standard of education and research for the University was set by its first Vice-Chancellor, Sir P.J. Hartog. In the 2nd Convocation address, he said: ‘A man may be an excellent teacher of elementary subjects without the power to add to knowledge. But in advanced work I maintain that no one can really teach well unless he has the combination of imagination with critical power which leads to the original production (of knowledge), and for that if for no other reason, a university to be a true university must see that its teachers are men who are also capable of advancing knowledge.’
At the beginning, a distinctive feature of the University of Dhaka was its non-affiliating, residential character like that of the Oxford of England. However, since 1947 the University was given an affiliating mandate in place of an exclusive residential-cum-teaching character.

A new phase began in the history of the University with the emergence of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in 1971. This was a phase of development, expansion and consolidation of earlier gains. The University assumed a central role in the academic pursuits of the region including this new nation. The University of Dhaka has passed through tumultuous times at different periods of our national history and played vital, at times, pioneering roles in all critical junctures in the making of this great nation. The founder of Bangladesh, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, along with the teachers and students of this University played the central role in the Language Movement of 1948 and 1952 that ultimately culminated in the recognition of Bangla as the State Language. He along with 27 students actively participated in the movement of fourth-class employees of this University and was penalized several times. He was also expelled and lost his studentship from the department of Law. Later on, this university under the active guidance of Bangabandhu launched the student movement, 6-point movement and 11-point movement and thus lead the country towards independence. Henceforth, several important incidences took place: the flag of Bangladesh was hoisted on 2nd March 1971, next day the manifesto of independence was declared and Bangabandhu became the head of the state, open arms training started and Joy Bangla Bahini was formed after the historic 7th March speech, which ultimately set the nation for a formal freedom fighting. During the Liberation War, Mujibnagar Government was formed with Bangabandhu as the President, SayedNazrul Islam as the Vice President and Tajuddin Ahmed as the Prime Minister. These leaders and many, who participated in the Liberation War, were the students of this university. During the Liberation War 194 persons including teachers, students, officers, staffs and their relatives sacrificed their lives at the altar of the state and this way University of Dhaka made an extraordinary and considerable contribution in the creation of independent Bangladesh. Just after the creation of Bangladesh, the government proclaimed the University of Dhaka Order, 1973 whereby democratic norms and autonomy became integral features of the institution.

While serving as the highest echelon of academic excellence, the University also functions as a central premise for free thought and democratic practices that leads the nation to its march towards progress. The University of Dhaka is increasingly striving to combine the pursuit of knowledge and truth with the values and needs of an evolving society. It is noteworthy that the Governor of Bengal and the Chancellor of the University of Dacca, Lord Lytton in his speech at the first Convocation of the University on 22 February, 1923 said “….this University is Dacca’s greatest possession, and will do more than anything else to increase and spread the fame of Dacca beyond the limits of Bengal or even of India itself”.Presently the University enrolls more than 5,800 students, on merit basis, in the first year HonoursProgramme in different Departments of the Faculties and the Institutes. Besides conducting teaching courses in the 4- year Bachelor and 1-year Masters Programmes, the University also trains up a large number of researchers in different disciplines. More than 1262 Ph.D. and 1217 M.Phil. researchers have obtained their degrees from this University.

The University of Dhaka is dedicated to the advancement of learning, and is committed to promoting research in all fields of knowledge. As there are plans for further expansion of facilities, plans for new avenues and opportunities, the course curricula are updated and new research projects are undertaken every year. As the pioneer and the largest seat of learning in the country, the University of Dhaka has taken the task to foster the transformation processes of the individual students and the country as a whole through its educational and research facilities keeping up with the demands of the day. The University of Dhaka is at the moment one of the leading institutions of higher education in Asia.
The University of Dhaka is well prepared to meet the challenges of the future days with its spirit of freedom, justice and truth as a foundation concomitant to the objectives envisaged by the founding fathers.
The open-minded character of the University of Dhaka embodying the features of beauty and historical origins can be seen as one enters the campus.

Department of Public Administration
The Department of Public Administration is one of the leading Departments in the University with remarkable academic and research experiences. Established on 1st July 1972, the Department has started its three year BSS (Hons.) Program from academic session 1971-1972. Before that one year MSS Program in Public Administration was initiated in academic session 1969-1970 and 1970-1971 under the Department of Political Science of Dhaka University. The dynamic leadership of its founding Chairman Professor Nur Mohammad Mia and the efforts of other faculty members enormously helped the Department to attain the present stage of excellence. Since its establishment, the Department has been conducting undergraduate and post graduate academic programs and offering BSS (Honours), MSS, M. Phil & Ph. D. degrees. The four year BSS (from session 1996-97) and one year MSS programs of the Department have strong theoretical and quantitative orientation. All students are required to take the core courses like Introduction to Public Administration, Management, Personnel and Human Resources Management, Financial Administration, Comparative Public Administration, Sociology of Administration, Urban and Local GovernanceEtc. Since 2006-2007 sessions the department has been following the semester system. The Department started offering M. Phil & Ph. D degrees since 1980’s.
Mission and Vision of the Department
Mission
We seek to inspire and promote higher education and research in governance, administration and public policy that constantly stimulates critical thinking, intellectual curiosity and innovation adaptive to the ever-changing society.
We pledge to uphold the principles of free exchange of ideas and foster a spirit of collaboration, understanding and openness.
We nurture our students as future leaders with a clear sense of duty for making effective contribution to the positive transformation that our society is witnessing and also to the achievement of the development aspirations of our nation.
Vision
The Department aspires to be recognized as an inquiry-driven, academically engaged entity and a centre of continual learning that stimulates intellectual transformation of students, advances their frontiers of knowledge and creates future leaders to serve this spectacularly ever-growing

Contact
Department of Public Administration
Dhaka University Campus, Dhaka-1000.

[email protected]
+88 09666 911 463 (Ext880-2-9661900-73 Ext. 6661, 6662)

DUPAAA is a non-political, not for profit organization. The objective of the organization is to create a platform for the alumni of the Dhaka University Public Administration Department for networking and development of the Public Administration as a field of study and career. The main focus of DUPAAA is the students and the Department of Public Administration

Journey of DUAA
Twenty-fourth September 1949, Nine years after the idea was mooted, the Dhaka University Alumni Association was born. The idea was first articulated by Dr. Mumtazuddin Ahmed, graduate of 1925, who became Director of Public Instruction in East Pakistan and later Vice Chancellor of Rajshahi University. Another stalwart who contributed to the establishment of the Association was Khan BahadurNaziruddin Ahmed, the first Registrar of the University. The first President and Secretary General of the Association was Justice M. Ibrahim and Mr. Mizanur Rahman of the first batch of students of the University who led it for 1949 to 1962 and bequeathed the ideas of the Grand Assembly, Duty Fund, branches in other towns and cities and Old Students Home. The association was called ‘Old Boys Association’ up to 1959 and then it was named ‘Old Students Association’ the following year. In order to include women students the Association was renamed ‘Alumni Association’ in 1960.

The Association was formed as a social club of former students of the University with the objective of promoting the interests of the University and its students. It is committed to providing assistance to meritorious students of limited means and at times it has done so from its Duty Fund. It also intended to set up a centre for students’ activities and programs but could not do much in the absence of a regular office or premises of its own. Old students’ home is still an unfulfilled target. In 1965 the Association was hopeful of receiving a piece of land from the University to build an alumni centre. In 1998 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced the allocation of a plot of land from the old Railway area to the association but bureaucratic procedures have blocked the process of such a transfer till now. At one time there were several branches of the Association in other towns and cities but there are none at the moment.

Under the dynamic leadership of the Executive Committee of DUAA (2004-2013) led by its president Syed ManzurElahi and Secretary General Raquibuddin Ahmed since 2004 DUAA came to flashlight through arranging its own office complex in the ground floor of “NababNawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhavan” of Dhaka University as the construction was completed in 2007 by its own fund. This has been styled as the “Alumni Floor” with 16,000 sft space that includes office rooms, meeting and conference rooms, lobby, library, cyber cafe in a computer lab, coffee house, gym and a big modern prayer hall, all covered by AC. Alumni Floor has become a get-together centre for the alumni with necessary amenities. With about 10,000 life members DUAA Executive Committee (2013-2016), led by Raquibuddin Ahmed and DewanRashidulHasan as President and Secretary General respectively is now committed and actively working towards the development of our alma mater – the University of Dhaka, popularly known as the “Oxford of the East” and welfare of its students of present, past and future. To mention only one of about a dozen projects, DUAA offers about 400 scholarships every year through collecting donations and arranging a number of Trust Funds to each year of each department and Institute of Dhaka University.