Employers less interested in hiring National University graduates

Business Desk :

Employers are less likely to hire National University graduates despite their academic records, as they are considered low-quality graduates, according to a recent study
Students who do not gain admission to public universities usually enroll in the National University, the study finds.
The findings, presented by Tahreen Tahrima Chowdhury, a research fellow at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), were revealed during the second day of the Annual BIDS Conference on Development 2025, held at Parjatan Bhaban in Dhaka’s Agargaon on Monday.
The study, titled “Employability of NU Graduates in Bangladesh: Academic Performance or Work Experience?”, is based on a nationwide survey of 1,639 graduates from 515 NU-affiliated colleges.
She also mentioned a World Bank research report, which stated that a staggering 46 percent of graduates from National University (NU)-affiliated colleges remain unemployed even 3 to 4 years after graduation.
This rate is significantly higher than the overall 38 percent unemployment rate among university graduates, exposing deep cracks in the country’s higher education and employment pipeline.
Chowdhury’s research comes at a time when Bangladesh has nearly 9 lakh unemployed graduates, according to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2024 conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Despite overall unemployment falling over the past five years, the jobless rate among those with tertiary education continues to climb – reaching 13.5 percent in 2024, the highest across all education levels.
The most alarming statistic is the 46 percent unemployment rate among NU graduates, even years after completing their studies.
This suggests a systemic mismatch between the education they receive and the skills the job market demands.
In contrast, public university graduates face an unemployment rate of 38 percent, with the average job search period lasting 10 months.
NU graduates, however, often wait significantly longer, many without securing employment at all – pointing to a structural disadvantage that places them at the back of the line in an already strained job market.
The study noted that the NU, with over 2,000 affiliated colleges, produces the largest number of tertiary graduates in the country.
However, many of these institutions are under-resourced, lack strong industry connections, and do not provide sufficient career guidance – placing their students at a disadvantage compared to peers from public and private universities.