Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU) established in July 2001 as per the law enacted by the National Assembly through an Ordinance (Presidential Order No. 16 of 2001), redesignating the former Bangladesh Agricultural Institute (BAI) located at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. BAI was originally established in 1938 as the Bengal Agricultural Institute in the then Monipuri Farm under the university of dhaka. In the beginning, after completing 2 year BSc courses at the University of Dhaka, students who enrolled at Bengal Agricultural Institute (subsequently, Bangladesh Agricultural Institute) had to undertake practical training courses on Crop Production, Soil Science, Horticulture, Plant Pathology, Entomology, etc. The first batch of 20 students enrolled during the academic year of 1938-39 passed out from the Institute in 1941. It continued functioning in this manner till the partition of India in 1947. At this point the name Bengal Agricultural Institute was changed to East Pakistan Agricultural Institute, although its syllabi and curricula continued intact until 1959, and it went on admitting only 20 students. However, from 1953, after obtaining Bachelor of Agriculture (BAg) degree, the students were allowed to do further studies leading to a master degree in agricultural science (MAg). From 1959, the number of students admitted into the institute was increased from 20 to 40 (now 185), and this number continued until 1971.
After independence the institute was redesigned as Bangladesh Agricultural Institute. With the establishment of Agricultural University at Mymensingh in 1961, the faculty of agriculture under the University of Dhaka ceased to function and East Pakistan Agricultural Institute was transferred to East Pakistan Agricultural University as its only affiliated Agricultural Institute. It was then left to dual controls, and was academically under the Agricultural University but administratively under the Directorate of Agriculture (R&E). The institute was put under the control of bangladesh agricultural research institute, Joydebpur, Gazipur in 1976.
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University started functioning from December 2001 by taking over all the assets and liabilities of the former BAI with the appointment of a Vice-Chancellor.
At present the SAU has departments of Agronomy, Crop Botany, Entomology, Agricultural Chemistry and Biochemistry, Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, Horticulture, Genetics and Plant Breeding, Plant Pathology, Soil Science, Agricultural Statistics, Agricultural Extension Education, Animal Husbandry, and Agro-Forestry.
The university has about 76 acres of farmland. The library contains about 27,600 books, about 3,500 volumes of journals and other publications. [Mohammad Quamaruzzaman]
