Bangladesh Accreditation Council Explained

Agency Name:	Bangladesh Accreditation Council
Parent Department:	Ministry of Education
Motto:	Sustainable Socioeconomic Development through Excellence in Higher Education
Formed:	2017
Jurisdiction:	Government of Bangladesh
Chief1 Name:	Mesbahuddin Ahmed^[1]
Chief1 Position:	Chairman

Bangladesh Accreditation Council (BAC) (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ অ্যাক্রেডিটেশন কাউন্সিল) is an autonomous government agency responsible for the accreditation of higher education institutes and academic-program-offering entities for quality assurance, leading to international recognition.^{[2] [3]}

History

The council is established under the Bangladesh Accreditation Council Act, 2017,^[4] which was passed by the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament) in March 2017. Mesbahuddin Ahmed was appointed the first chairman of the council in August 2018.^[5] Education minister Dipu Moni inaugurated the office of Bangladesh Accreditation Council at Mohakhali in May 2019.^[6] The appointment of four full-time members of the council was completed in June 2019. The first council meeting was held at the BAC office, Mohakhali on December 22, 2019.^[7]

Objectives

• Facilitate the implementation of quality assurance mechanism and national qualifications framework at the higher education institution (HEI) and program levels.
• Provide standards, guidelines and code of best practice to the higher education institutions (HEIs) for self-assessment and developing internal quality assurance culture.
• Provide advisory services to the HEIs or program offering entities to prepare them for accreditation;
• Facilitate the adoption of quality assurance standards by the HEIs and program offering entities.
• Conduct external quality assessment of HEIs and academic programs and provide feedback for further improvement and accreditation.
• Conduct training, workshop, conference to motivate the higher education community towards accreditation and capacity building.
• Conduct or commission research on quality assurance and appropriateness of the standards in higher education.
• Maintain liaison and cooperation with credible international quality assurance networks and accreditation bodies in higher education.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Council. BAC::Bangladesh Accreditation Council . 3 July 2020.
2. Web site: Homepage . BAC::Bangladesh Accreditation Council . 4 July 2020.
3. Web site: Objectives . BAC::Bangladesh Accreditation Council . 4 July 2020.
4. Web site: বাংলাদেশ অ্যাক্রেডিটেশন কাউন্সিল আইন, ২০১৭. Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 3 July 2020.
5. Web site: Govt appoints first chair of accreditation council. Md Solamain, Daily Sun. 4 July 2020.
6. Web site: Accreditation Council office opens. Staff Correspondent, New Age. 4 July 2020.
7. Web site: Bangladesh Accreditation Council holds first meeting. Eduvista Desk, Daily Observer. 4 July 2020 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200703200217if_/https://www.observerbd.com/details.php?id=234996 . 3 July 2020 .