New direction for investments in education
Enamul Haque | Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Whether redundant types of education are being favoured over the forms of education that help the creation of human resources is posing increasingly as a serious question in the context of Bangladesh. Clearly, the country requires not the creation of parasitical elements in the name of education but useful manpower to feed the growing diverse needs of its economy.
Investors in education--meaning both the government and the private sector -- ought to branch out of investments in traditional or general education. It is highly preferable that they should look to other areas where profitability would be more or less assured and where new educational capacities would create human resources in different fields in support of entrepreneurial activities. For instance, fashion institutes are needed to bolster the country's export oriented ready-made-garments (RMG) sector. A few of them have been set up but more are needed. Institutions to impart education and training on leather technology are in very short supply. More of these institutions can help produce skilled manpower for rapid expansion of the leather industries sector with greater export dimension. Specialised educational organisations to teach agriculture science that can create manpower in support of the growing export oriented agro industries could be another worthwhile field of investment.
The private sector can similarly invest in polytechnics, engineering universities and colleges with assured rates of return on their investments. There is a big demand for engineering and vocational education and compared to the demand, facilities for receiving such education in the country are in short supply. Investments made in this area will not only meet demand but also help in the creation of a growing, technologically-able, workforce to increasingly supply the needs of various sectors of the economy. There should be more investments in information technology (IT) education centres considering the huge potential demand in this sphere.
However, in all of these areas and more, the investors must be guided by the principle of providing truly quality education. Bangladeshi students presently go abroad in large numbers in quest of quality education. If they have access to similar education at home, which also would be obviously cheaper for being based in the country, then their fascination for foreign destinations will very likely decline. In that case, the country would be making a huge saving that is now drained in paying the charges and living expenses for its student population abroad.
Government's regulations usually create more impediments to investments than encouraging the same. But the ground for effective regulation of bodies imparting education privately has also arisen because of the less-than-expected degree of quality maintained by many of these bodies. Therefore, useful regulation of the private educational institutions has also become essential to ensure quality education.
Investors in education--meaning both the government and the private sector -- ought to branch out of investments in traditional or general education. It is highly preferable that they should look to other areas where profitability would be more or less assured and where new educational capacities would create human resources in different fields in support of entrepreneurial activities. For instance, fashion institutes are needed to bolster the country's export oriented ready-made-garments (RMG) sector. A few of them have been set up but more are needed. Institutions to impart education and training on leather technology are in very short supply. More of these institutions can help produce skilled manpower for rapid expansion of the leather industries sector with greater export dimension. Specialised educational organisations to teach agriculture science that can create manpower in support of the growing export oriented agro industries could be another worthwhile field of investment.
The private sector can similarly invest in polytechnics, engineering universities and colleges with assured rates of return on their investments. There is a big demand for engineering and vocational education and compared to the demand, facilities for receiving such education in the country are in short supply. Investments made in this area will not only meet demand but also help in the creation of a growing, technologically-able, workforce to increasingly supply the needs of various sectors of the economy. There should be more investments in information technology (IT) education centres considering the huge potential demand in this sphere.
However, in all of these areas and more, the investors must be guided by the principle of providing truly quality education. Bangladeshi students presently go abroad in large numbers in quest of quality education. If they have access to similar education at home, which also would be obviously cheaper for being based in the country, then their fascination for foreign destinations will very likely decline. In that case, the country would be making a huge saving that is now drained in paying the charges and living expenses for its student population abroad.
Government's regulations usually create more impediments to investments than encouraging the same. But the ground for effective regulation of bodies imparting education privately has also arisen because of the less-than-expected degree of quality maintained by many of these bodies. Therefore, useful regulation of the private educational institutions has also become essential to ensure quality education.