Govt fixes 20pc enrollment target in technical edn by 2020: Nahid

FE Report
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said Tuesday the government has fixed a target of 20 per cent enrollment in the country's technical education by 2020 to meet the growing demand of job market.
He said it is very urgent to generate a skilled and required workforce for the country's industries to convert the existing developing economy into the developed status.  
"Currently, over eight per cent students take admission into the country's  polytechnic institutes, which was only one per cent in 2009", the minister said  while speaking at a seminar as the chief guest.
Skills and Training Enhancement Project (STEP) under the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) organised the seminar on the occasion of 'Technical and Vocational Education Week 2014'.
Education Secretary Dr Mohammad Sadiq, Director General of DTE Md Shahjahan Miah, Technical Education Board Chairman Prof Abul Kasem and STEP Director Golam Md Zahirul Alam, among others, were present on the occasion.
The education minister stressed the need for transforming the traditional education into technical and vocational one to produce a skilled workforce in line with the market demand.
He also added that people's attitude toward the vocational education is changing dramatically. "I strongly believe, the future of Bangladesh completely lies with the technical education as the world is moving toward technology", the minister noted.
Mr Nahid said last year, nearly 983,96 students applied in the country's technical institutes seeking admission against 12,000 available seats. "We've almost 200 polytechnic institutes including 49 state-run ones across the country", he added.
He said the considerable reflection of the country's vocational education is visible as the local workforce is replacing those posts that were dominated by highly-paid foreign employees.
Referring to a report of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the minister said the number of foreign labourers working in the country's private sector especially in the ready-made garment (RMG) industry is declining as local manpower started achieving such skills.
"Recently, the number of overseas labour force in the RMG sector declined to 12,000 that was 19,000 a few years back", the minister said.
Marking the education week, the authorities also arranged a day-long job fair at the Institution of Diploma Engineers in the capital where a total of 54 stalls from various industries and technical education sector participated.