Improving the quality of technical education
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
WHILE the government is observing 'Technical and Vocational Education Week' since last Sunday by organising colourful rallies and programmes, the country's technical education remains in a poor state with the ministry concerned paying little attention to its qualitative improvement since long. Against the backdrop of acute shortage of teachers in the government-run technical education institutions and poor quality of education imparted to students there, the official observance of technical education week appears to be anachronistic.
A few statistics would reveal the sordid state of the technical education centers, where a large number of students coming mainly from low-income families are being treated. Nearly 45 per cent of the posts of teachers of government polytechnic institutes are vacant. Seven of such institutes, including the ones located in Dhaka and Rajshahi, do not have principals and 18 more have no vice-principals. Of the 48 state-run polytechnic and mono-technique institutions, only 23 are under regular revenue budget and the remaining ones, placed under various projects, are the worst-suffers. The situation prevailing in the private technical and vocational education centers is no better either. Such centers have mushroomed across the country with their sponsors found to be interested more in earning money than imparting quality technical and vocational education matching the demand in job markets both at home and abroad.
The need for building up a strong pool of manpower having quality technical education has been highlighted time and again, particularly in view of the demand for the same in many of the Middle East and South East Asian countries. But the authorities concerned did little to resolve the problems facing the technical institutions and upgrade the quality of education there. Hundreds of thousands of unskilled workers employed abroad are drawing poor wages. But had they been properly skilled, the amount of money these workers remit every year would have been several times higher than what the country is receiving now. More importantly, the demand for skilled manpower at home is quite high.
It is, however, heartening to note that the incumbent education minister is quite aware of the flaws in the country's technical education system and he has promised to put it on a sound footing by bringing about necessary changes in the curricula. But in addition to such changes, it is imperative to address structural as well as manpower problems bedeviling the operations of the government-run technical and vocational institutions. Then again the education ministry would be failing in its mandated job if it does not put in place a regulatory mechanism for the non-government technical education centers. Such a regulatory body, being properly manned, should be asked to strictly follow syllabi approved by the technical education board and ensure a healthy academic environment.
There remains yet another issue -- the very limited scope for the technical diploma holders pursuing higher education--- that deserves immediate attention of the ministry concerned. Only a few seats of higher learning allow enrolment of the technical diploma-holders, primarily because of the poor quality of education offered by the country's technical institutions. So, side by side with efforts for modernising the technical education system, the opportunities for having access to higher education on the part of the technical diploma-holders, do need to be created.
A few statistics would reveal the sordid state of the technical education centers, where a large number of students coming mainly from low-income families are being treated. Nearly 45 per cent of the posts of teachers of government polytechnic institutes are vacant. Seven of such institutes, including the ones located in Dhaka and Rajshahi, do not have principals and 18 more have no vice-principals. Of the 48 state-run polytechnic and mono-technique institutions, only 23 are under regular revenue budget and the remaining ones, placed under various projects, are the worst-suffers. The situation prevailing in the private technical and vocational education centers is no better either. Such centers have mushroomed across the country with their sponsors found to be interested more in earning money than imparting quality technical and vocational education matching the demand in job markets both at home and abroad.
The need for building up a strong pool of manpower having quality technical education has been highlighted time and again, particularly in view of the demand for the same in many of the Middle East and South East Asian countries. But the authorities concerned did little to resolve the problems facing the technical institutions and upgrade the quality of education there. Hundreds of thousands of unskilled workers employed abroad are drawing poor wages. But had they been properly skilled, the amount of money these workers remit every year would have been several times higher than what the country is receiving now. More importantly, the demand for skilled manpower at home is quite high.
It is, however, heartening to note that the incumbent education minister is quite aware of the flaws in the country's technical education system and he has promised to put it on a sound footing by bringing about necessary changes in the curricula. But in addition to such changes, it is imperative to address structural as well as manpower problems bedeviling the operations of the government-run technical and vocational institutions. Then again the education ministry would be failing in its mandated job if it does not put in place a regulatory mechanism for the non-government technical education centers. Such a regulatory body, being properly manned, should be asked to strictly follow syllabi approved by the technical education board and ensure a healthy academic environment.
There remains yet another issue -- the very limited scope for the technical diploma holders pursuing higher education--- that deserves immediate attention of the ministry concerned. Only a few seats of higher learning allow enrolment of the technical diploma-holders, primarily because of the poor quality of education offered by the country's technical institutions. So, side by side with efforts for modernising the technical education system, the opportunities for having access to higher education on the part of the technical diploma-holders, do need to be created.