Imperative is job-oriented education

The country could be much better off today to fill positions in both private and public sectors, if the government had gone for greater spending of public resources on specialised educational institutions. There is a growing demand for qualified manpower in vocational, technical, scientific and managerial fields in public sector bodies and private enterprises in a developing economy like that of Bangladesh. To meet this demand, specialized educational institutions such as for textile engineering, food processing, leather technology, agro-technologies, marine technology, etc., are of importance as far as the supply-side is concerned. But the number of such specialised educational institutions in the country's public sector remains still inadequate. And also the quality of education in most existing institutions in such fields has also not been up to the standard. This has given rise to some serious ill developments. As a result, increasingly more young people with promise are failing to pursue job-oriented education. In the sphere of technical and vocational education, private institutions are few in number but many potentially good students do not have the access to them, for reasons of high costs of tuition and other charges. In the developed countries, the provision of facilities for higher, technical and vocational education that contribute directly to the creation of a competent and productive workforce, is not entirely left to market forces or the private sector. In this backdrop, the objective of maximising the creation of human resources in the highest economic interest of a developing country like Bangladesh does need to be actively pursued so that there is no social exclusion on the part of many talented and promising students who do not have the necessary financial strength to have their access to such specialized educational institutions. The pursuit of this objective in a focused and determined way, can help increase or promote the supply of technically trained and skilled manpower. On its part, Bangladesh must channel resources substantially toward technical and vocational systems of education. It should make available in much greater numbers such forms of education to its younger generation at affordable costs. This will help realise the objective of a greater supply of skilled and trained manpower for attaining a higher level of economic growth. In full appreciation of this need, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina befittingly stressed the need for building capacities for technical, vocational and job-oriented education that would cater to the needs of a growing economy, while inaugurating the other day the campus of a college devoted to textile engineering. The education minister also stated to the same effect last Tuesday at a workshop on technical and vocational education. All these would suggest that the government realizes well the fact that appropriate education -- mainly focusing on the job market -- can turn the dream of making the country a middle-income one by due date. Indeed, there is no alternative to job-oriented education in the 21st century for boosting the economy. But over the years the rhetorics of leaders of successive governments have not quite matched the real accomplishments in this vital sphere. Furthermore, the real focus on expansion of related physical facilities and also upgradation of quality of such education, reflecting the needs of a growing economy, has been missing since long. The setting up of more specialised educational institutions, alongwith an unfailing attention given to ensuring the quality of their services, merit, thus, a priority consideration now. That will contribute the most to revamping the country's education system to meet the practical needs of its economy. That is the sustainable way of enhancing the quality of its human resources in Bangladesh and improving their skill and efficiency. For that matter, all concerned would expect that hard actions would now come at the earliest. Mere words or pronouncements will make no difference to the situation. The leaders of the government do need to appreciate this, more in actions than in words.