Equivalence trap: The UGC certificate slowing down foreign graduates’ career ambitions

Of the more than 60,000 Bangladeshis who pursue higher education abroad every year, many eventually return to the country in the hopes of contributing to the national workforce. 

While abroad, many face cultural shocks, but once they are back, a different kind of shock awaits them, especially for those seeking a government job. 

For foreign graduates, one document is a must for government employment: the University Grants Commission (UGC) Equivalence Certificate. What should be a routine verification takes months, often six to eight, sometimes even 10, delaying their careers.

UGC maintains that its equivalence process is structured and consistent. It has an online portal, a standard set of required documents, and a timeline publicly stated on its website. But applicants tell a different story, one of long queues, contradictory instructions, unexplained delays, and repeated requests for documents already submitted online.

"I applied in February and got my certificate in late October," said one applicant who completed an undergraduate degree in Malaysia. "They told me it usually takes 90-120 working days, but mine took more than eight months. Every time I asked for updates, they said the file was 'under process'. I couldn't attend two government job interviews because I couldn't submit the certificate."

His experience is neither unusual nor exceptional. The timeline seems arbitrary, with applicants reporting wildly different processing durations despite submitting identical documents. 

"I had friends who got it in four months. Mine took almost a year. There's no explanation," a graduate from Australia, Imran said.

We are creating brain drain ourselves. People leave because they think there's nothing here for them. Then when they return, they face such barriers that they leave again.

Jubayer Ahmed, founder, education consultancy firm Scapes Plan

Namrota, a Bangladeshi foreign graduate who completed her bachelor's degree in Kashmir (India) described the process as "emotionally exhausting".

"They kept asking for my university's academic syllabus. The problem is, my university in Kashmir changed their syllabus that year. When I sent the syllabus of my graduation year, they rejected it because the format didn't match their expectations. They asked me to contact my university multiple times for a document that simply didn't exist in the format they wanted," she said.

Even after submitting everything, she was called for further verification. "I was told verbally that the 'degree structure didn't align'. But our universities abroad have different credit systems. That's the whole point of equivalence. They acted as if I was making a mistake, not them."

Azmira, another Bangladeshi graduate from China, faced a slightly different obstacle. Her university uses Chinese-language transcripts. Though she submitted an official English translation, the UGC demanded that the translation bear specific wording that her university does not provide.

"They told me to bring one in English, or get it notarised myself. But how can I just make an official document? My university refused to provide one," she said.

Her equivalence application remained stuck for months. "I eventually got it, but only after physically visiting the office three times and explaining the same thing every time. Finally, I had to go to a notary public officer to translate it."

According to Jubayer Ahmed, a consultant who has assisted many students through the process, such inconsistencies are common. "The system is not actually automated," he said.

"It is technically online, but everything is manually handled. The files are manually checked by a board of experts. If one of them finds anything that they deem unsatisfactory, the file is kept on hold for months," he added.

Jubayer explained that even minor discrepancies, such as differences in the spelling of a university's name across documents, can cause delays. "Sometimes they won't even tell the student what the issue is. The applicant keeps waiting," he said.

Md Mamun, senior assistant director of the International Collaboration Division at UGC, insists that delays occur mostly when documents are incomplete or when degrees require deeper scrutiny.

But another UGC official, preferring anonymity, acknowledged that the real picture is more complicated. 

"We are understaffed. The number of applicants has increased significantly. There is no fixed timeline because verification depends on communication with foreign universities. Some universities reply quickly, some don't. And yes, sometimes files move more slowly depending on workload or internal priorities," the official said.

The official has followed the issue closely and added that the delays reflect a deeper structural problem. "Bangladesh wants to bring back its talent; engineers, researchers, and public administrators, but we block them at the very first step. A person who studied abroad, spent lakhs of taka, and returned with skills, why should they wait 10 months for a basic certificate?"

UGC's current verification system, despite being digitised on paper, lacks actual automation, the official added. 

"It is a legacy bureaucratic mindset. The digital portal is simply a submission platform. The verification is still manual. Until the system is genuinely overhauled, every year, thousands of students will remain stuck."

For many, the wait becomes more than an inconvenience. It becomes a reason to leave the country again.

Arman Parvez, who had returned from the UK, left Bangladesh a second time after his equivalence application sat untouched for months. "I applied for government jobs here, but without the certificate, I wasn't eligible. After six months of waiting, I took an offer abroad. It felt like the system was pushing me out."

The cost of such delays is not just personal; it is national. Even if a fraction of the students who go abroad annually for higher studies returned home with expertise, they could contribute significantly to sectors where Bangladesh has shortages, including research, technology and academia.

Some degrees, such as Law, Pharmacy, Medical, and Nursing, cannot be processed through the standard UGC system at all. They fall under separate professional councils. For these applicants, the process becomes an even longer chain of office visits, paperwork, and inter-agency verification.

Even Covid-era graduates face hurdles. Universities abroad modified exam schedules, assessment methods, and semester durations during the pandemic. However, the UGC often questions whether these modified structures match "standard requirements".

"Covid-19 was global," said Adnan Afroz, who completed a semester of his degree online during lockdowns. "But the UGC wanted evidence that the 'academic engagement' hours matched their expectations. How is that my fault? That was the global system."

For many, the most bewildering part is the human factor. Adnan has monitored this issue closely and said, "The problem isn't that we have verification. Every country verifies foreign degrees. The problem is the opacity. People don't know why their applications are stuck."

He added, "Any system that affects tens of thousands of young people must be transparent. If the UGC simply published a clear, step-by-step timeline and stuck to it, most of the frustration would disappear."

While the graduates wait, the job circulars expire. Deadlines pass and opportunities vanish.

The irony is hard to ignore: the country encourages students to explore global education, yet struggles to recognise that education when they come home.

"We are creating brain drain ourselves. People leave because they think there's nothing here for them. Then when they return, they face such barriers that they leave again," Jubayer said.

Disclaimer: To protect the privacy and security of the individuals involved, all names used in this article are pseudonyms.