Mojahidul IslamThe developed countries are going forward very fast with Technical and Vocational Education. But in Bangladesh this education system has not attained much popularity among the common masses although it is integrated in National Education Policy. This scenario can be changed by down to earth measures. According to a report by Technical Education Board two thousand new institutes have been established where two lakh new students have enrolled.
Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB) Chairman Abdul Haque Talukder shared his views on technical education scenario in Bangladesh with The Daily Observer recently.
Focusing on the increasing rate of students in the technical education the BTEB Chairman said, "About 8 per cent of the total students in our country are receiving technical education and some 51 public and 374 private institutes are offering diploma courses on various disciplines."
"Most of the students in general education face the problem of unemployment while the technical and vocational education creates more job opportunity for students as they are trained with practical knowledge." Abdul Huq added.
"The developed countries initiated action plan on technical education about 100 years ago. The education was started in our country about 60 years ago, but no emphasis was given on the sector and it was out of the national education policy until 2010," opined the BTEB Chairman.
"Therefore, the education system remains backward withy compared to other developing countries like Malaysia, South Korea and those who took the matter with seriousness," he added.
The Chairman explained the importunateness of Technical education to develop skilled human resources for betterment of the county.
He said, "Vocational educat ion is the changing force of a developing nation. To convert the huge number of population to skilled human resources, there is no alternative to technical education. Government eyes to raise the ratio of technical education to 20 per cent to reach the target self dependent Bangladesh by 2021,"
He further said the government introduced technical education in primary level according National Education Policy 2011 and is very sincerely providing facilities like computers and technical supports to help the sector rise up. He expressed high hope that a Technical Education University will be established soon as a hub of technical research.
"We are trying to manage scholarships for about 1. 5 lakh students of technical education form a support of World Bank. Some Tk 534 crore is allotted for 30 technical educational institutes," he told The Daily Observer.
The BTEB Chairman said Bangladesh Technical Education Board was established in 1954 and at present the public and private technical institutes under this board are trying hard to eliminate the curse of unemployment from Bangladesh.