National University established in 1992 under the National University Act (Act No. 37 of 1992) to relieve the existing universities from the unwieldy roll strength of the students seeking higher education, and at the same time, to ameliorate the conditions prevailing in the affiliated colleges and to improve the quality of teaching. Qudrat-I-Khuda Education Commission (1974) recommended the establishment of four affiliating universities in the then four administrative divisions of the country. The university grants commission (UGC) constituted a ten-member committee headed by Professor Kazi Abdul Latif to prepare a report on the establishment of an affiliating university. After reviewing the proposal of the committee, the UGC recommended (5 November 1985) to the government for the establishment of the National University.

At that time, there were 462 degree colleges in the country. Of these colleges, 43 were offering Bachelor Honours and 12 Masters courses in different subjects. Besides, there were eight medical colleges, two agriculture colleges, and four engineering colleges, which were affiliated institutions under the care of the Universities of Dhaka, Rajshahi and Chittagong and the Bangladesh Agriculture University. All these universities were overburdened with their obligation towards the affiliated colleges. As a result, academic standard of the affiliated colleges could not be maintained. The UGC recommended the establishment of an affiliating university to improve the standard of education of the affiliated colleges of four universities of the country through updating the curricula and syllabi and regular training of the college teachers for promotion of their professional quality. With the promulgation of National University Act all the general degree colleges of the country, including those teaching law, education, music and fine arts came under the purview of this university. National University was vested with powers to affiliate degree colleges of the country, excepting those teaching agriculture, engineering and medicine, and to frame curricula and syllabi, look into the development and dissemination of knowledge, provide teaching and research facilities, hold examinations, and confer degrees.

The university has three academic units: School of Undergraduate Studies; School of Post Graduate Studies, Training and Research Centre; and Curriculum Development and Evaluation Centre. About 1,300 affiliated colleges, which are integral parts of the university provide BA/BSS/BSc/BCom (Pass and Honours), MA/MSS/MSc/MCom, BEd, MEd, BPEd, LLB, BBA and some other equivalent courses. There are about 800,000 students in these colleges. There are four institutes in the University: Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences; Institute of Natural Sciences; Institute of Life Sciences; and Institute of Liberation, Bangabandhu and Bangladesh Studies. These institutes offer post-graduate research courses. At present, there are 202 officers and 510 employees working in the university.

The Prime Minister of Bangladesh is the Chancellor of the University. [Feroze Akhtar]