Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University

History

SAU was established as Bengal Agricultural Institute (BAI) on 11 December 1938 by Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq, the chief minister of undivided Bengal. The Bengal Agricultural Institute was renamed East Pakistan Agricultural Institute (EPAI)in 1947. After the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country in 1971, the name of the institute was spontaneously changed to Bangladesh Agricultural Institute (BAI).

Since its inception in 1938, the BAI has been functioning as a Faculty of Agriculture under Dhaka University. After the establishment of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) at Mymensingh in 1961, its academic function was transferred to BAU in 1964, until its upgrade to Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in 2001.

SAU became the 17th public university of the country in 2001. The Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Act 2001 was passed in the Parliament of Bangladesh on 11 september 2001.

SAU functioned as a university from 2001 with a single faculty: The Faculty of Agriculture, following the issuance of a notification by the government as per the requirement of the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Act 2001. On 22 June 2009, a bill was placed in the parliament to assign the president as chancellor. The Agribusiness Management, Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Science faculties started in 2007, 2012 and 2017 respectively.

Nearly 5,700 graduates plus 600 postgraduates have been produced by the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University. Presently, about 3,300 undergraduate and postgraduate students are enrolled and are taught by faculty members.

List of vice chancellors

Campus

The campus is surrounded by 87 acres of land. This campus is like a small village in the center of Dhaka city.

Infrastructure

• 1 administrative building
• 3 faculty building & complex
• 1 Library
• 1 Auditorium
• 7 halls for students
• 1 Poultry farm
• Machinery farm
• Research field (Agronomy, Horticulture, Genetics and plant breeding, plant pathology, etc.)
• 2 Mashjid (mosque)
• Temple
• Cyber café
• Gymnasium
• Medical Center
• Cafeteria

Library

Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Library is in a separate three-storied building at the east wing of the administrative building. This library has a glorious history. It was established in 1938. Most probably, it is the first special library in Bangladesh.

The library has a collection of more than 40 thousand books comprising the major subjects of agriculture and related subjects. It also collects popular national journals related to agriculture and a few international journals. Students and teachers can borrow books; they use its reference books/journals during the opening hours. The library has 24 administrative personnel. It has been providing Internet service facilities to its users. It has a large number of electronic resource collections.

Recently, the library has shown an interest in e-Resources. As a result, it subscribed to JSTOR, HINARI, AGORA, OARE, Oxford Scholarship Online, Pearsons, Taylor & Francis ebooks, CRCnetBase, Wiley Online, IMF e-Library, Emerald Insight, TEEAL, LiCob and it has an institutional repository. The university has built a Digital Archive on Agricultural Theses and Journals (DAATJ) under the funding of UGC-HEQEP.

Halls of residence

The Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University has four halls for male and three for female students. Students either reside in or are attached to a hall of residence. A provost and an assistant provost look after the administration of a hall.

Boy's dormitories

• Sher-e-Bangla Hall
• Nabab Siraj-Ud-Doula Hall
• Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam Hall
• Bijoy 24 Hall

Girl's dormitories

• Begum Syedunnesa Hall
• Begum Rokeya Hall
• Oporajita 24 Hall

Academic

Faculties

• Faculty of Agriculture
• Faculty of Agribusiness Management
• Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine
• Faculty of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Science
• Faculty of Post Graduate Studies

Faculty of Agriculture

• Department of Agricultural Botany
• Department of Agricultural Chemistry
• Department of Agricultural Extension and Information System
• Department of Agroforestry and Environmental Science
• Department of Agronomy
• Department of Agricultural Engineering
• Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
• Department of Biotechnology
• Department of Language
• Department of Entomology
• Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding
• Department of Horticulture
• Department of Plant Pathology
• Department of Soil Science

Faculty of Agribusiness Management

• Department of Agricultural Economics
• Department of Development and Poverty Studies
• Department of Agricultural Statistics
• Department of Agricultural Finance and Management
• Department of Agribusiness and Marketing

Faculty of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine

• Department of Anatomy, Histology and Physiology
• Department of Animal Nutrition, Genetics & Breeding
• Department of Animal Production & Management
• Department of Dairy Science
• Department of Medicine and Public Health
• Department of Microbiology & Parasitology
• Department of Pathology
• Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
• Department of Poultry Science
• Department of Surgery & Theriogenology

Faculty of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Science

• Department of Fisheries Biology and Genetics
• Department of Aquaculture
• Department of Fishing and Postharvest Technology
• Department of Aquatic Animal Health Management
• Department of Aquatic Environment and Resource Management
• Department of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography

Faculty of Post Graduate Studies

• MS in Food Safety
• MS in Agricultural Journalism

Institutes

• Institute of Seed Technology

Admission

Undergraduate

From 2019 to 2020 Academic year a unified cluster system admission test is introduced in nine Universities which provide education in the field of Agricultural Sciences these are Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Sylhet Agricultural University, Khulna Agricultural University, Patuakhali Science and Technology University,Habiganj Agricultural University and Kurigram Agricultural University. After then students get chance of admission as per their choice and score of merit list

Post Graduate

Research organisation

• Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Research System (SAURES)
• Dr. Kazi M Badruddoza Research Centre

Research programs

New technologies are developed by potential researchers through the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Research System (SAURES). The Genetics and Plant Breeding Department has a major research thrust on the development of new varieties of crops; identification of parental lines for hybrid development; molecular characterisation of crops and germplasm characterisation, documentation and preservation.

Convocation

The first convocation of the university took place on 16 November 2015. The President of Bangladesh, Md. Abdul Hamid was the chief guest of the convocation.

Publications

• SAU Barta
• Journal of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University

Notable alumni

• Noazesh Ahmed, plant geneticist and photographer

References

References

1. "QS World University Rankings: Asia 2026".
2. "History & act".
3. (22 June 2009). "Hasina to quit chancellorship of 7 public universities". [[The Daily Star (Bangladesh)]].
4. Rahaman, Arafat. (2024-08-07). "Three VCs of public universities resign". [[The Daily Star (Bangladesh)]].
5. "::. Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University .::".
6. "প্রজ্ঞাপনঃ মাধ্যমিক ও উচ্চশিক্ষা বিভাগ".
7. [https://www.saulibrary.edu.bd/ SAU Library's official website]
8. "Agri-varsities to begin 'cluster system' admission test". Daily Sun.
9. "Unified admission test in 7 agricultural universities". New Age.
10. "UGC to hold uniform admission test for 7 universities". Dhaka Tribune.
11. (16 November 2015). "Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University convocation". bdnews24.com.
12. "Ahmed, Noazesh".