A Look At Technical Education In Bangladesh

A Look At Technical Education In Bangladesh The People’s Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia which became independent in 1971 after a glorious nine months of liberation war with Pakistan Army who killed three millions Bangalees. Bangladesh literally means â€Å"The Country of Bengal†. Lying north of the Bay of Bengal, on land it borders India and Myanmar, and it is a close neighbor to China, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan. Bangladesh is surrounded by India in The West, North and North-East and Myanmar to the South-East. It is situated between 20034†² and 26038†² North Latitude and 88001†² and 92041†² East Longitude. It has an area of 147,570 sq. km. and a population of nearly 140 million. It has a population density of 948 persons per sq. km., which is the highest in world. As the name â€Å"The Country of Bengal† suggests that Bangladesh is an ethnically homogeneous country. Among the different ethnic groups Bengalis 98  % and the remainder are mostly, Santhals, Chakmas, G aros, Biharis, Oraons and Mundas. Variations in Bengali culture and language do exist of course. The estimate of religious makeup from the 2001 census reported that the population was 89.58% Muslim, 9.34% Hindu, 0.62% Buddhist, 0.31% Christian and 0.15% Animist. With the highest density of population in the world and slow economic progress, the people of this country are trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty. Over 50% of the people who live below the poverty line are not able to provide for their basic needs and amenities. With 140 million people, Bangladesh is the eighth largest in the world in population. It is also one of the most densely populated countries and endowed with limited natural resources. Bangladesh has to rely, more than most developing countries, on its human resources for progress and prosperity. Educational Structure of Bangladesh The present education system of Bangladesh may be broadly divided into three major stages, viz. general education, madrasha educatio n and technical education. Here I am discussing about technical education in Bangladesh. Technical & Vocational Education For the students whose interests are not strictly academic may find technical-vocational programmes more interesting and more valuable for their future. Government tries to ensure that the course curriculum should be relevant to students’ interest and aspirations while at the same time it should address the needs of the job market. a. Primary level. There is no technical-vocational institution in primary level of education. Ebtedayee in the first level (Primary level) of madrasah education has no scope for technical-vocational education. Accordingly, technical – vocational education in Bangladesh is designed in three phases under two major levels of secondary and tertiary level of education. b. Secondary level. Vocational courses starts from secondary level. The certificate courses prepare skilled workers in different vocations starting from ninth g rade after completion of three years of schooling in secondary school. At this level the courses are diversified in different vocations spread over 1 to 2 years duration. Recently, 2 years duration vocational courses have been introduced at the higher secondary level in government managed vocational training institute (renamed as Technical School & College). Diploma courses prepare the diploma engineers at the polytechnic institutes. This course spread over 4 years duration after passing the secondary school certification examination. There is a technical education board called Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), which grants affiliation to the technical institutes. It conducts examinations of the students completing different courses in different vocational and technical education, and awards certificates to the successful candidates.