The newly proposed university comprising seven government colleges in the capital will be called the Dhaka Central University.

The seven colleges involved in the new university are Dhaka College, Government Bangla College, Government Titumir College, Eden Mohila College, Kabi Nazrul Government College, Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, and Begum Badrunnesa Government Girls' College. The colleges currently serve about 2 lakh students in both graduate and postgraduate programmes.

The decision was made yesterday at a meeting held at the University Grants Commission (UGC) with a delegation of 28 student leaders, said Abul Kalam Azad Majumder, the deputy press secretary to the chief adviser, at a press briefing yesterday.

Regarding the university's interim administration, a proposal has already been prepared and sent to the University of Dhaka (DU) authorities via the education ministry.

Once the proposal is approved by the DU Syndicate, the interim administration will be finalised, Majumder said.

The university's administrative structure is nearly complete, and final decisions will soon be made. Initially, the interim administration will be led by one of the principals from the seven colleges.

The UGC has conducted interviews with the seven principals, and one will be selected to head the new university. The respective principal's college will serve as the university's headquarters.

Earlier, on January 27, the DU authorities announced they would sever ties with the seven colleges following demands from the students.

From the 2024-25 academic year, no new students will be admitted under DU though existing students will continue their studies under DU's administration.

Before the creation of the National University in 1992, the seven colleges were affiliated with DU.

After the National University was established, it took over the responsibility for the colleges and others affiliated with various public universities.

However, in August 2014, then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the education ministry to re-affiliate the colleges with their respective public universities.

The process of re-affiliation was formally initiated in November 2016, and on February 17, 2017, the seven colleges were re-affiliated with DU.

The aim was to improve education quality, reduce pressure on the National University and eliminate session jams.

However, the re-affiliation led to significant issues such as delays in exam schedules, result publication and administrative inefficiencies, eliciting student protests.

In October 2024, students began calling for the establishment of an independent university for the seven colleges.