The issue of skill development
Shamsul Huq Zahid | Monday, 2 March 2009
Scarcity of skilled labour force is considered one of the key constraints to the investment climate in Bangladesh. The World Bank (WB) in a recent investment climate assessment has identified this fact.
Skilled workers may not be that scarce in the apparel sector and some other industries. But as far as Information Technology (IT) and English language are concerned, there exists a serious dearth of the same.
To be honest, English language skill is dismally low at all levels of the country, be it administration or business or educational institutions. The dearth of personnel having proficiency in English language is being felt everywhere including government offices. Similarly, the public servants are reluctant to be exposed to IT. Though the government is talking loud about maintaining transparency and accountability through the use of IT, its officials are found to be technology-shy. The high officials do have computers in their offices. But they do not operate those personally. The government has appointed computer operators at taxpayers' cost.
Nobody would dispute the use of Bangla, our mother tongue, as the principal medium of education. But that does not any way prevent us from learning English as the second language. The present deplorable state of English skill is the outcome of deliberate neglect on the part of a section of political leaders and so-called intellectuals.
One may like it or not, the fact remains that it is hard to pursue international trade, higher education, diplomacy etc., without having necessary skill in English language. This hard truth is being felt now everywhere. The resistance to learning English as second language has been weakening very fast because of the globalization.
But the government is not getting the desired results despite its increased emphasis on English education. It starts imparting English education from the secondary level, not from the primary level. The system of education is such that the students study English just to come out successful in examinations, not to learn the language. The quality of English teaching is also low in both government and private schools where hundreds and thousands of students are studying. The highly-expensive English-medium schools are a few exceptions. Students of these schools are taught better in English language which helps them understand better the courses offered at the tertiary level of education. But the poor and the lower middle class cannot afford the costs of the English medium schools. Thus, two sets of educated people-one is proficient in English and the other is not, are entering the job market every year.
There is no denying that the successive governments have done a great job in raising the enrollment level at the primary and secondary levels of education. They have offered scholarships to girl students up to degree level. But they have failed to do much to impart better English education to students. Actually, the overall quality of education at all levels is low, except for a few educational institutions which are offering quality education.
Then again there exists a divide between rural and urban education as far as the quality is concerned. Rural schools cannot attract better and qualified teachers because they cannot afford higher pay. Besides, the urban school teachers have enough scope to earn extra amount of money through private tuition.
Thousands of Bangladeshis leave home every year taking up jobs abroad. But most of these people being unskilled are employed in low-paid manual jobs, mainly in the Middle-eastern countries. They cannot communicate with their employers or others since they do not have the required skill either in English or Arabic. Their helplessness becomes more evident at the international airports. Had they been skilled labourers having knowledge in IT and English, they would have fetched higher wages and contributed more to the economy of the country.
The government has been spending a significant amount in the name of skill development. But, in reality, such expenditure has failed to produce any tangible results. The manpower ministry does need to educate people in spoken English, Arabic and Malaya through its existing infrastructures. The authorities concerned should establish necessary institutions on an urgent basis at all district headquarters to impart education on foreign languages, particularly the ones spoken in the major destinations of Bangladeshi workers. These facilities should also have provisions for vocational training. There are facilities for skill development in the private sector, but they are highly inadequate to meet the growing demand.
Since the expatriate workers are fetching billions of dollars every year, the government should have no reasons to behave miserly in setting up such facilities across the country.
The immediate past caretaker government had formed a skill development working group (SDWG) under the Bangladesh Better Business Forum (BBBF), a joint platform represented by both private and public sectors. Through the SDWG, two sectors have articulated their strong desire to put in place a national action plan for skill development.
Now uncertainty looms large over the fate of the BBBF and the working groups formed under it. It is still not clear whether the grand alliance government would continue with the Forum or not. It is most likely that the new government would allow the Forum to continue. But its effectiveness would largely depend on the government's willingness.
However, pending the government's decision on the BBBF, the education ministry must take up the issue of improving the level of English education at all levels, starting from the primary level, and the manpower ministry needs to build up facilities across the country for skill development of the would-be migrant workers. But there should not be any wastage of taxpayers' money in the name of skill development. It is should be considered a serious venture.
Skilled workers may not be that scarce in the apparel sector and some other industries. But as far as Information Technology (IT) and English language are concerned, there exists a serious dearth of the same.
To be honest, English language skill is dismally low at all levels of the country, be it administration or business or educational institutions. The dearth of personnel having proficiency in English language is being felt everywhere including government offices. Similarly, the public servants are reluctant to be exposed to IT. Though the government is talking loud about maintaining transparency and accountability through the use of IT, its officials are found to be technology-shy. The high officials do have computers in their offices. But they do not operate those personally. The government has appointed computer operators at taxpayers' cost.
Nobody would dispute the use of Bangla, our mother tongue, as the principal medium of education. But that does not any way prevent us from learning English as the second language. The present deplorable state of English skill is the outcome of deliberate neglect on the part of a section of political leaders and so-called intellectuals.
One may like it or not, the fact remains that it is hard to pursue international trade, higher education, diplomacy etc., without having necessary skill in English language. This hard truth is being felt now everywhere. The resistance to learning English as second language has been weakening very fast because of the globalization.
But the government is not getting the desired results despite its increased emphasis on English education. It starts imparting English education from the secondary level, not from the primary level. The system of education is such that the students study English just to come out successful in examinations, not to learn the language. The quality of English teaching is also low in both government and private schools where hundreds and thousands of students are studying. The highly-expensive English-medium schools are a few exceptions. Students of these schools are taught better in English language which helps them understand better the courses offered at the tertiary level of education. But the poor and the lower middle class cannot afford the costs of the English medium schools. Thus, two sets of educated people-one is proficient in English and the other is not, are entering the job market every year.
There is no denying that the successive governments have done a great job in raising the enrollment level at the primary and secondary levels of education. They have offered scholarships to girl students up to degree level. But they have failed to do much to impart better English education to students. Actually, the overall quality of education at all levels is low, except for a few educational institutions which are offering quality education.
Then again there exists a divide between rural and urban education as far as the quality is concerned. Rural schools cannot attract better and qualified teachers because they cannot afford higher pay. Besides, the urban school teachers have enough scope to earn extra amount of money through private tuition.
Thousands of Bangladeshis leave home every year taking up jobs abroad. But most of these people being unskilled are employed in low-paid manual jobs, mainly in the Middle-eastern countries. They cannot communicate with their employers or others since they do not have the required skill either in English or Arabic. Their helplessness becomes more evident at the international airports. Had they been skilled labourers having knowledge in IT and English, they would have fetched higher wages and contributed more to the economy of the country.
The government has been spending a significant amount in the name of skill development. But, in reality, such expenditure has failed to produce any tangible results. The manpower ministry does need to educate people in spoken English, Arabic and Malaya through its existing infrastructures. The authorities concerned should establish necessary institutions on an urgent basis at all district headquarters to impart education on foreign languages, particularly the ones spoken in the major destinations of Bangladeshi workers. These facilities should also have provisions for vocational training. There are facilities for skill development in the private sector, but they are highly inadequate to meet the growing demand.
Since the expatriate workers are fetching billions of dollars every year, the government should have no reasons to behave miserly in setting up such facilities across the country.
The immediate past caretaker government had formed a skill development working group (SDWG) under the Bangladesh Better Business Forum (BBBF), a joint platform represented by both private and public sectors. Through the SDWG, two sectors have articulated their strong desire to put in place a national action plan for skill development.
Now uncertainty looms large over the fate of the BBBF and the working groups formed under it. It is still not clear whether the grand alliance government would continue with the Forum or not. It is most likely that the new government would allow the Forum to continue. But its effectiveness would largely depend on the government's willingness.
However, pending the government's decision on the BBBF, the education ministry must take up the issue of improving the level of English education at all levels, starting from the primary level, and the manpower ministry needs to build up facilities across the country for skill development of the would-be migrant workers. But there should not be any wastage of taxpayers' money in the name of skill development. It is should be considered a serious venture.