Published: 11:32 AM, 13 July 2026
'Govt working to reverse Brain Drain'
Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon said the government is working to reverse brain drain and aims to transform Bangladesh's universities into institutions comparable to Harvard, Cambridge and MIT.
He came up with the remarks while addressing an orientation program for 546 newly admitted students for the Summer 2026 term at at Begum Sufia Kamal Auditorium of Gazipur Agricultural University (GAU) on Saturday. On the occasion, the minister also inaugurated a campus-wide tree-planting campaign under the government's five-year initiative to plant 250 million trees. Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon urged the freshers to pursue innovation and prepare to lead globally through research and knowledge. The minister also interacted with students, responding to questions during the session. Addressing the program, Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr GKM Mustafizur Rahman highlighted the university's growing global recognition, noting that GAU ranked first among Bangladesh's public universities in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2026.
He said the university placed 82nd globally in SDG 1 (No Poverty), 66th in SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and in the 101-200 band for SDG 4 (Quality Education).
He also noted that GAU ranked 23rd worldwide in the World University Rankings for Innovation (WURI) 2026 under the "Technology Transfer for Economic Development" category the only Bangladeshi public university to make the global top 100 and secured the top position among the country's agricultural universities and third among public universities in the QS Sustainability Rankings 2026.
The vice-chancellor said the university has so far developed 97 high-yielding crop varieties and more than 20 agricultural technologies, while six new improved varieties have received institutional support during his tenure.
Gazipur-2 MP M Manjurul Karim Rony, Gazipur Deputy Commissioner Nurul Karim Bhuiyan, faculty members, officials and students were present at the program.
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