Govt reshuffles BUFT board after UGC investigation

The government has reconstituted the Board of Trustees of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT) following an investigation by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Based on the UGC’s recommendations, the education ministry published the names of 21 trustees in a gazette on September 15.

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Mesbha Uddin Ali, chairman of Wega Group, has been appointed chairman of the new BUFT Board of Trustees.

The UGC said the new board was formed because BUFT was established by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), and members of the trade body would also serve as trustees.

“Historically, BUFT was conceived as a part of BGMEA. As a university, it caters to the needs of the industry. And the board will serve its term to enhance its potential and ensure that the integrity of the institution is upheld through fairness and propriety,” said Rubana Huq, chairperson of Mohammadi Group and a member of the BUFT trustee board.

“BUFT is a part of BGMEA and should never be a place of personal interest or affiliation,” she said.

The reconstitution of the board has been in the works for quite some time, as the matter had a somewhat different background, Mesbha told The Daily Star in a WhatsApp audio message.

The BGMEA Institute of Fashion and Technology (BIFT), the predecessor to BUFT, was established in the late 1990s.

At the time, Bangladesh’s garment sector faced a serious shortage of educated middle managers. People who moved into middle-management positions had usually risen through the ranks from worker-level jobs, said the trustee board chairman.

BIFT gradually developed, and at one point it received permission to come under Bangladesh Open University and award graduation certificates, he added.