Portal:Bangladesh/Selected article archive/July 2007

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Rajshahi University or University of Rajshahi (Bengali: রাজশাহী বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, Rajshahi Bishshobiddalôe) is a public university located in Rajshahi, a city in northern Bangladesh. Rajshahi University was established in 1953, the second university to be established in what was then East Pakistan. The university's forty-seven departments are organised into eight faculties. Rajshahi University is located in a 753 acres (3 km²) campus in Motihar, 3 kilometres (2 mi) from the Rajshahi city center. With 25,000 students and close to 1000 academic staff, it is one of the largest universities in Bangladesh. In addition to hosting programs in the arts, sciences, agriculture, social sciences, business studies and medical sciences, the university houses a number of institutes of higher studies.

The university is run according to the Rajshahi University Act of 1973. The act, passed in 1973, allows the university considerably more autonomy than most other peer institutions. The president of Bangladesh is the de-facto Chancellor of the university, but his role is mainly ceremonial. The highest official after the Chancellor is the Vice-Chancellor, selected by the senate of the university every four years. The Vice-Chancellor, as of 2007, is M Altaf Hossain. Other important officers of the university include the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, the registrar, the controller of examinations and the proctor. The proctor is in direct charge of student activities and is the official with most direct contact with the students. The most important statutory bodies of the university are the senate, the academic council and the syndicate. As a public institution, most of Rajshahi University's funding comes from the government. The University Grants Commission (UGC) is the body responsible for allocating funds to all public universities. In the 2005–06 fiscal year, the UGC granted 59 crore taka (around US$10 million) to the university; the university was expected to raise another 3 crore taka from its internal resources.

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