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The British Council was very pleased and privileged to organise the two-day workshop on 'Entrepreneurship and Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Sector in Bangladesh' in collaboration with the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute. The workshop aimed to generate a greater level of awareness and to sensitise different stakeholders on key issues relating to linkages between Entrepreneurship and the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Sector. The focus on Public Private Partnerships showed the vital role that these can play in fostering the growth of social enterprises in the TVET sector in Bangladesh. The British Council, in partnership with the Bangladesh Technical Education Board and the Department of Technical Education has been running Enterprise Challenge Awards for TVET students for the last three years to promote social entrepreneurship among students under its Skills for Employability project. The project aims to promote skills development and increase the employability of young people by encouraging closer links between education and industry. A fast changing policy framework, globalisation, and increasing deregulation all point to the potential of real and productive partnerships between the state and private sectors, and the British Council is proud to have been associated with taking this forward. With best wishes Charles FORWARD BY CHARLES NUTTAL OBE COUNTRY DIRECTOR BRITISH COUNCIL BANGLADESH 01 It gives me great pleasure to note that the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute and the British Council jointly organized a two-day workshop on 'Entrepreneurship and Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Sector in Bangladesh', from 15th to 16th January 2011 at Hotel Westin, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The workshop brought together around 70 participants - including policy makers, representatives from the government, academia, private sector, NGOs, civil society and media to discuss and review the present state of Technical and Vocational Education framework in Bangladesh. Mr. Dilip Barua, Honourable Minister, Ministry of Industries, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh inaugurated the workshop alongside Mr. Salahuddin Kasem Khan, Managing Director, A.K. Khan & Company Ltd, Muhammad A. (Rumee) Ali, Managing Director & Chairman, BRAC Enterprises & BRAC Bank, and Mr. Humayun Kabir, an expert on Technical and Vocational Education Curriculum, Mr. Stephan John, Head of Operations, People 1st, Sector Skills Council for Hospitality Travel and Tourism, United Kingdom (UK), presented the keynote paper. In recent years, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) has undertaken initiatives to go into partnership with the private sector to promote TVET and has extended its policies, to include basic and second cycle levels of TVET. TVET would allow greater private sector participation in the efficient delivery of services and facilitate an enhanced role for the private sector in the Government's initiative to promote Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprises. Skills acquisition is vital for the Bangladesh economy to compete and grow, particularly in an era of globalization, post-recession market economy, and technological change. The workshop identified that skills needs is widespread in Bangladesh - that they are not only demanded by the modern wage sector but also by the agricultural and informal sectors. TVET is considered an important tool to improve the employability of individuals, increase productivity in industry, and, thus, to reduce poverty. Bangladesh has an established TVET system, but it is hampered by inadequate links with industry, has an outdated curriculum and weak delivery strategies. The workshop further identified that there is a global market for products and services. It also agreed that there must be a global market for the manpower and skills that deliver these products and services. While one of Bangladesh's strength is its large population, the global market is always looking for skilled workers. Therefore, to optimise the potential of the people, the TVET system in Bangladesh must offer skills which are at least on par with those of other developing countries. It was also agreed that skills are closely tied to economic growth and that the higher the skills level, the greater would be the potential affect on remittances and the Gross Domestic Product of Bangladesh. INTRODUCTORY NOTE BY FAROOQ SOBHAN PRESIDENT BANGLADESH ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE 02 TABLE OF CONTENTS 03 Distinguished guests, participants and ladies and gentlemen. Good Morning. At the very outset, let me extend my heartfelt thanks to the British Council and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute for having invited me to speak at this workshop on 'Entrepreneurship and Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Sector in Bangladesh'.. This workshop is a timely initiative and should be commended. I believe, during the next two days, the workshop will effectively highlight the issues and concerns and identify a set of concrete recommendations focusing on the vocational and technical education sector in Bangladesh. I believe that the presentations to be made by distinguished experts and practitioners on TVET will be very informative and enlightening and would eventually assist different stakeholders in obtaining a new perspective on TVET sector. In Bangladesh, TVET includes two major forms: vocational and technical education in formal education systems, and training outside the formal system of education. As I understand, the objective of this event is to enhance the growth of both the forms, the issues and recommendations to be identified in the next two days would help us in prioritizing immediate attention, facilitate processes to strengthen partnerships among the various stakeholders, and design effective modalities to improve TVET-related decision-making procedures. I would expect that this event will help us contrive the most effective means of achieving tangible progress in the TVET sector. The issue of TVET is already on the agenda of the government and we are committed to provide strong support for the TVET sector. Given the growth pattern in Bangladesh economy and importance of surplus labor, Bangladesh needs more skilled human resources, both in terms of quantity and quality, more so than ever. Because of the changes in production processes resulting from technological advances, modern industries and services requires more skilled manpower. The thrust sector industries and business in Bangladesh are in need for adequately trained and skilled workforce for their expansion. Garments entrepreneurs have gone on record as saying they have more vacancies than they can fill at both blue and white collar levels and they currently have to outsource from abroad and the leather industry has no option but to send technicians overseas to obtain training both at a not insignificant cost. A revamped and modern vocational education can produce exactly this kind of manpower. I believe, vocational education would contribute to the growth of Bangladesh economy, both by reducing unemployment, through creating employment in the fields of pre-vocational specialization and self- employment, and by engendering a higher propensity for labor force participation in the labor marker, improving productivity, and correspondingly resulting in higher earnings. Vocational education can also be seen as an equity measure. The vocational education will promote equity with rural needs and serve the needs of relatively poor people and help in halting migration to urban areas for work. Most importantly, TVET is a component for development of disadvantaged youth in rural and urban areas. SPEECH BY: MR. DILIP BARUA HONOURABLE MINISTER, MINISTRY OF INDUSTRIES GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF BANGLADESH. Saturday, January 15, 2011, The Westin Hotel, Dhaka 04 05 As the transforming global economy is demanding more skills the value of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has gone up. Business sector is looking for better skilled manpower while experts in the education sector are also trying to make education more updated by incorporating tools for skills development. TVET has more relevance in Bangladesh, where both the education system as a whole requires an overhaul and the economy also needs skilled labour to power its forward march. Let us look at some of the compelling factors that necessitate a deeper look at the value of TVET, particularly in Bangladesh. First, Bangladesh currently enjoys high rate of growth of labour force at an annual rate of 3.3%. With a youth bulge in its population, Bangladesh has 53.7 million people in the group of above 15 years of age. It is true Bangladesh has a relatively low rate of unemployment at 4.2% at this time, but the under employment rate is very high, which currently hovers at 28.7%. Likewise, according to Labour Force Survey of 2009 women participation at the labour force is still modest at 13%, and the wage rate is low too. Second, Bangladesh economy suffers from another paradox. While demand for skilled workers is growing, skills are extremely low in supply. According to Bangladesh Economic Review of 2010 around 48.4% of our labour force is now employed in agricultural sector, where the underemployment is most acute; industry employs 24.3% of workers, and service sector employs 14.2%. As the economy is now growing at a healthy annual rate of around 6%, the demand for workers will grow in the industrial and service sectors, which required multi dimensional skills. Needless to say that TVET could perhaps offer the most appropriate level of skills for timely and sustained supply of trained and skilled manpower to domestic industries as well as helping the labour markets abroad. Third, there is a demographic compulsion, which justifies TVET. Bangladesh has to create 2 million jobs annually to employ the incoming labour force every year. Currently Bangladesh can create jobs for only 1 million people, including around quarter million jobs created overseas every year. That means that around 1 million young people remain in the labour force without any job or employment. According to several estimates, by 2020, labor force will go to 100 million from its present size of roughly 54 million. Given a saturated agriculture sector, industry must create 16 million jobs by 2020 - a 5.5 percent annual increase. The largest portion of the new jobs will have to come mainly from the manufacturing and service sectors including trade, construction, transportation and communication. IMPORTANCE OF IMPROVING TVET CURRICULUM IN BANGLADESH 06 Further, vocational education is considered helpful in developing what can be termed as 'skill-culture' and attitude towards manual work, in contrast to pure academic culture and preference for white collar jobs. Understanding the importance of TVET, the government has initiated two specific initiatives. One is the one-job-per-family project; the other is providing a much-need revamp of the country's Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system. The TVET reform project has come up with a National Skills Development Policy that encompasses restructuring of the existing TVET institutions, upgrading skills of teachers and managers of these institutions and curriculum up gradation to bring these up to speed with the efficiency requirements of today. But perhaps the uniqueness lies in a totally new approach to make available basic skills training in rural areas which encourages self-employment that is rewarding and gainful especially among the physically challenged and the less privileged section of the society. The new policy seeks to embrace all existing platforms of training and empowerment including streamlining efforts of different ministries, private initiatives as well as that of NGOs. The framework has been established. However, the challenge now lies in ensuring that a smooth, transparent and accountable mechanism is in place to implement the elements so as to obtain the desired results. I believe, this conference will also shed some light on this issue. Let me conclude by saying that the government is firmly committed to dissolve the disparity between the educational system and the labor market through the development of a proper TVET system that is easily accessible, affordable and relevant to labor demand needs. While the government has the important role of designing a strategy in this area, private sector enterprises have to be heavily involved in the identification process of labor demand needs and delivery programs. In conclusion, I would once again like to thank BEI for organizing this much-needed event and giving me an opportunity to speak on this very important subject and I look forward to receiving the outcome of this workshop. Thank you. 07 the major responsibility in curriculum updating. Several problems make the process practically ineffective. There is no research unit at BTEB and hence they can hardly conduct any local or global needs assessment or carrying out any research on the changing patterns of TVET. They do not have adequate manpower, or any system to ensure quality of student performance, among others. As a result, curriculum development remains trapped in an outdated mode with attendant negative consequences. Policy Framework In recent years, several policy documents of the government have dwelt on the issue of skills development and TVET in Bangladesh. The National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction (FY 2009- 2011) set the target of raising the enrolment of students in TVET to 20%; currently it is roughly 7% of total student body at SSC and HSC level. It also envisaged creation of TVET opportunities for those who could not complete grade VIII education, which is a basic requirement for admission in the TVET stream under the existing system and making TVET curriculum, duration and schedule flexible. It was also proposed to facilitate creation of self employment to TVET trainees by offering them easy credit. The Skills Development Policy of 2009 also suggested creation of full scope of pre-employment and livelihood skills training, including TVET and apprenticeships; education and training for employed workers, including workplace training; and employment oriented and job-related short courses, for both domestic and international markets. It also aimed at enhancing individuals' employability (wage/ self employment) and ability to adapt to changing technologies and labour market demands; improving the productivity and profitability of enterprises; and strengthening national competitiveness and reducing poverty. The National Education Policy of 2010 envisaged the following: Introduction of Pre-TVET courses from grade VI; setting up of Technical school in each Upazila; introduction of flexible courses from drop outs and older students, offering Grade-I skill certificates to those who would leave school after Grade-VIII; encourage private sector to set up of TVET institutions; update curriculum, and inclusion of courses relevant to job markets overseas including foreign languages. Missing Links Yet several handicaps limit the prospect of full utilization of benefits from TVET in Bangladesh. One of them is the conceptual confusion. Three issues are relevant here. First, education is fast becoming global; national curriculum is losing value. More so with TVET system, which has to evolve with the changing demands of labour market. TVET education in Bangladesh therefore has to be brought in line with global developments and standards. Second, education in general, including TVET has moved from process orientation to outcome orientation. In Bangladesh, TVET system remains largely process oriented. Third, existing curriculum is largely traditional and insular in nature. It does not also cover the needs of major sectors of evolving economy. 08 Fourth, skills mismatch is adding another layer of complexity to this challenge. Academic institutions do not produce graduates with new skills, which employers want. BANBEIS survey of 2008 indicates that the number of school children in age group of 11-15 is 17.2 million. Among them, only 7.50 million go to secondary school, 9.45 million do not go to school rendering the net enrolment rate at 45.09%. Secondary school completion rate is just 38.62%; 61.38% do drop out, and most of them go for the job market. Another BANBEIS report of 2006 identified 50% drop out starts at primary level, 80% at the end of grade X and 94% drop out after failure in SSC examination. The big question is what future holds for these drop outs? One argument is that that perhaps could turn them into entrepreneurs if they had some exposure to TVET. Fifth, skills demand is fast changing from fixed knowledge to variable knowledge. A worker now needs to have analytical and critical thinking skills, in addition to technical skills, among others. Sixth, demographic changes are creating openings in global labour market for semi skilled and skilled labour from Bangladesh. Increasing overseas employment and the possible market for skilled Bangladeshi workers abroad also offer some justification for investing in the system of TVET. Exploring global labour market is a necessity for Bangladesh given its economic constraints. Remittance from 7 million expatriate workers now contributes $10 billion a year to our exchequer. Existing TVET Curriculum Under the existing curriculum Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB) offers following courses at secondary and higher secondary level: -5 X4 year courses in 39 trade areas -1 X 3 year course in 7 technology areas -9X 2 year courses in 64 health and trade areas -8X 1 year course in 90 trade areas -6 months X 2 in 2 automobile and business areas. These courses are run through 4525 Vocational Training Institutes, roughly 10% of them are operating under public sector and 90% are working under private management. Currently, the focus of curriculum is to impart technical knowledge to students mainly subjects, such as Engineering and Electronics, Agriculture, Animal Health and Trade subjects. Business Management was added in 1995 at higher secondary level. Recently government has upgrade Textile College in Tejgaon to the University level. In terms of responsibility, BTEB is responsible for curriculum development and implementation. Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment and Ministry of Youth also have some responsibility for curriculum development in their skills training and skills development programmes. A look at the curriculum development at BTEB clearly reveals that the process of curriculum development is at best weak; its interactions with stakeholders are often sporadic and largely bureaucratic in nature. Although some consultations occasionally take place with outside entities, BTEB Curriculum Directorate shoulders 09 Mainstreaming of TVET courses at post primary level should be implemented as soon as possible. The general and vocational curricula should be more integrated. Greater blending of contents, bringing more vocational content into the general curriculum and more general academic subjects (science, mathematics, language) into the vocational curriculum could be explored more vigorously. Botswana, Ghana, and Kenya have done it successfully. Chile has moved vocational education to high school and increased the academic content of vocational education to a third of the total teaching time. Modular and flexible format could be developed for non-institutional candidates to expand outreach of TVET. Mexico has developed an innovative education model for out-of-school individuals 15 or older to complete the equivalent of primary, lower secondary, or upper secondary education. Pakistan and Senegal have provided second-chance learning opportunities for out-of-school youth who lack the basic skills for work and life. This is most relevant for countries with significant numbers of young people who never went to school or dropped out before completing primary school. Special courses could be included on Entrepreneurship development in TVET programmes. Build up on best practices on TVET, both at home and abroad. Administration of TVET: BTEB should be strengthened, and decentralized for effective functioning. Skills Development policy also concurs with the idea that BTEB will establish a regional presence to improve their inspection and monitoring of public and private training organizations. Several ideas can be explored: The Board of BTEB may be restructured to include additional representatives from industry, professional bodies, civil society and other key government Ministries so the operational autonomy of BTEB is strengthened. Policy Initiatives National Training Authority could be created with PPP participation to coordinate development of curriculum, coordinate training among Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth and Social Welfare, Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment, and to develop certification procedure in accordance with global standards and do the monitoring of the system of TVET. South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania and Ghana have done it. Ghana has recently established a Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) Public-private partnerships (PPPs) could be explored in TVET for a range of areas, such as developing public policies, working out funding systems, developing curriculum frameworks. 10 Despite recent efforts to update TVET curriculum in Bangladesh, current curriculum does not also offer courses for developing entrepreneurial skills among the youth. Nor does the current curriculum allow significantly development of skills, in terms of creating employability, improving productivity of industry and raising national competitiveness and alleviating poverty. The TVET Curriculum also lacks connection to larger world. TVET outreach is modest and it suffers from serious perception deficit. As of 2009, only 7.8% of secondary school students appeared in vocational and technical education under SSC examinations. TVET curriculum lacks creativity, and does not effectively incorporate new set of skills, such as, team building, problem solving, thinking strategically, communications skills, entrepreneurship, multicultural interactions and foreign languages. In addition, there exists practically no partnership with the industry or stakeholders in curriculum development and its implementation. What is New? Yet, several initiatives have been undertaken to improve TVET in Bangladesh Donors have funded three ongoing projects: TVET Reform Project (EC-ILO), Skills Development Project (ADB-SDC), Skill and Training Enhancement-STEP (World Bank). Under these projects, efforts have been made to develop competence based TVET in Bangladesh. Already piloting has started in 12 TVET institutions from 01 January 2011. Arrangement is being worked out to acknowledge prior learning of potential TVET student and the process of National Technical and Vocational Qualifications Framework (NTVQF) is almost complete. The current projects also emphasize on development of community based training programmes for the backward communities, and handicapped persons etc. Way Forward? Where does TVET in Bangladesh go from here? Several ideas can be considered. Updating the TVET curriculum Link could be established with the market demand for recasting curriculum. Employers should be consulted extensively on curriculum development under an institutional arrangement with BTEB. UCEP, which does it every six months, could be a good example to follow. Skills Development Policy 0f 2009 suggests that BTEB should involve Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) and other key line Ministries in the review and development of new skill standards and curriculum. TVET curriculum could be re-oriented toward sustainability while maintaining the principles of the 6Rs: Reduce, Re-use, Re-new, Re-cycle, Repair and Re-think perspectives. M. Humayun Kabir Paper prepared for presentation at the Workshop on Entrepreneurship and Public Private Partnership in the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) Sector in Bangladesh, which was jointly hosted by the British Council and Bangladesh Enterprise Institute on 15-16 January 2011. *M. Humayun Kabir, former Ambassador and Secretary to the Government and a former Lecturer in Dhaka University, is Vice President of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute. 11 1.0 Introduction With an incredible population of 160 million barely accommodated in a merely 54 thousand square miles of land space, Bangladesh has marked its name as the most populous country of the world. Statistics suggests that, if the current global population of 6.6 billion starts living in the United States of America, the population density would not exceed that of Bangladesh. It's a very distressing fact. Bangladesh, devoid of significant natural resources, and a scarce food supply chain, is struggling to feed an ever increasing population. Moreover, the country is subject to repeated natural calamities and disasters. Misrule and corruption has only deteriorated the scenario. No wonder, the country is one of the poorest in the world. The huge population, much higher than what the country can feed or accommodate, is the number one national problem for decades all together. These people are mostly uneducated and unskilled. They are burden to themselves, their families and the larger society. They are simply on the liability side of the national accounting or macro balance sheet. This huge population can be turned from liability to asset side through education and training. They can be hopes, not despair, useful rather than useless, resources not burden, if we can properly train and educate them. The huge population can be number one national resource, if proper planning regarding human resource development is made and implemented. Having an alarming school drop-out rate and much less than adequate educational institutes, vocational training is the way out for Bangladesh. Even with current level of skill some 10 million Bangladeshis living and working abroad. They are the second largest foreign exchange earner of the country, next to the RMG Sector. Last year these Bangladeshis have pumped some 11 billion US Dollar to the country. Statistics suggest that while an average Sri Lankan earns 3000 dollars a month abroad, an Indian earns typically a figure of 2000 dollars, while a Bangladeshi earns merely 1000 dollars. Hence, it is estimated that the foreign exchange earning can be made just double without increasing the current number of people working abroad, if they are given semi-skill training. 2.0 The Present Scenario of TVET in Bangladesh The need for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has been long felt in the country and some initiatives had been taken in the past by the Government. There are 51 Vocational Training Institutes (VTI's) and 13 Technical Training Centers (TTC's) in Bangladesh in the public sector. The 13 TTC's and 1 Bangladesh Institute of Marine Technology (BIMT) produce annually about 7,000 highly skilled technicians on different trades, suitable for overseas employment. 12 Such collaboration could take place at many levels, including the macro (policy) level, the meso (sector) level, and the micro (enterprise) level. One could look at the possibility of selectively open the education market for foreign investment and participation with particular focus on TVET. For example, Training and Further Education (TAFE) of Australia supports many countries in upgrading their TVET infrastructure on PPP/donor collaboration basis. Bangladesh could benefit from building cooperation with them to update TVET infrastructure in Bangladesh. Conclusion TVET is Bangladesh is passing through a transition phase. Although some changes are looming on the horizon, something more than the institutional arrangement is required for allowing the process to mature and be effective in delivering results. Political commitment is a critical element and it should be more pronounced in support of TVET. At the systemic level, a new and dynamic approach is required to upgrade TVET in Bangladesh based on full assessment of the local and global evolution in skills development and TVET, and full participation of all sectors of economy. Commitment made in the Education Policy 2010 on TVET should be implemented through PPP on a priority basis. TVET should be integrated with general education and national technical qualifications should be developed without any delay. Share of TVET in Education budget should be enhanced along with effective monitoring mechanism in place to review progress of this sector under the National Training Authority. It could be helpful if participation of foreign TVET institutions could also be allowed in a suitable manner to provide comparable set of benchmark of quality and standard. References 1. Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics, National Education Survey (Post Primary) 2008. 2. International Labour Organization, Bangladesh Skills Development Policy 2010-2015. 3. Ministry of Education, Government of Bangladesh, National Education Policy-2010. 4. Ministry of Education, Government of Bangladesh, National Skills Development Policy 2009. 5. Ministry of Finance, Government of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Economic Review, 2010 6. Ministry of Labour and Manpower, Labour Survey 2009. 7. Planning Commission, Government of Bangladesh, "Steps towards Change: National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction II (Revised) FY 2009-11 December 2009. 8. Technical and Vocational Education Week 2010 (in Bangla), Ministry of Education, Directorate of Technical Education and Technical Education Board, 20-26 June, 2010. 9. World Bank, Bangladesh Vocational Education and Training: An Assessment, 2006. 10. World Bank, World Development Report, 2007. 1 Kamrul Hassan TVET: OUR HOPE AND ROAD TO PROSPERITY 1 Kamrul Hassan is an Assistant Professor at East West University(EWU), Dhaka, Bangladesh. 13 TVET students shall comprise 20% of all secondary students (currently it is 3%); Enrolment in TVET should increase by 50%; and that Women's enrolment should increase by 60%. 4.0 Barriers to Quality in Education in Bangladesh Traditionally the quality of education in the Indian sub-continent was commendable maintaining an acceptable level of standard. However, since the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the quality of education - both general and technical - has deteriorated considerably. There are many barriers to quality education in Bangladesh. A UNDP review of post-primary education highlighted the following barriers to quality in education in Bangladesh (World Bank, 1999): Inadequate professional preparation of teachers in both subject matter and teaching methods; Lack of academic supervision; Inadequate attention to research; Lack of teacher and institutional accountability; and Insufficient and unsuitable textbooks. Bangladesh Education Sector Review 2000 (World Bank, 2000) elaborated that the main problem with skills training in the formal and non-formal sector of TVET is lack of linkages to employers and the job markets. Employers complain that training programs do not produce the skills they require. They typically do not participate in determining contents of training programs. Courses tend to be offered in response to social demands, not based on labour market surveys and analysis. Labour market information is not collected systematically. There is no adequate database for labour market analysis, policy formulation, and research in TVET. Employers complain that the government is unable to change curricula quickly to keep up with technological changes in enterprises. A research study conducted by Khanam & Shamsuddoha (2003) identified the following problems of developing human resources in Bangladesh: Lack of Government Initiative. While the government says it supports human resource development it does not provide adequate funding. There is no nation-wide research regarding the quantity and quality of HRD programs. Lack of infrastructure. While educational institutions may offer strong programming to develop valuable and salable skills, they lack the facilities to deliver these programmes in an efficient and effective manner. Lack of Quality. The quality of these institutions is very uneven. Some do not provide quality teachers, materials or other resources needed for students to succeed. The government is casual in its oversight of programs. 14 Since mid 90s, to promote vocational education alongside general education, at secondary level, S.S.C. (Vocational) Course has been introduced in a number of non government secondary schools, funded entirely by government's own resources in the absence of necessary donor support. Different studies indicate that the programme enjoyed considerable support at local level, as people think that exposure to vocational education would contribute to generating interest in manual work besides acquisition of higher levels of skill. There however exists serious reservation about whether the above programme would at all be able to contribute to producing skills employable in industries particularly in the absence of adequately skilled instructors at the school level and curriculum acceptable to employers, and lack of necessary training materials. 3.0 Government's TVET Policies and Strategies The focuses of the government on education as enunciated in different policies and Five Year Plan documents are (National Education Report, 2004): Providing value based education Emphasis on job-oriented and need-based education Modernization of curricula Ensuring efficient management at all level Strengthening the Information and Communication Technology Ensuring teacher effectiveness at all levels Revitalizing technical and vocational education Ensuring gender parity at all levels of education The government has expressed in its new education policy that in an era characterized by the challenge of rapid technological change, globalization, economic uncertainty and diminishing resources there is no alternative to education and training that comply with modern and international standards. Therefore, TVET has been assigned high priority in its current national education policy (2009). Meeting national demand the country can increase its foreign exchange earnings by exporting its skilled manpower since there is a demand of skilled manpower in international job markets. Therefore, the government aims to train the country's huge workforce considering national and international job market requirements. Furthermore, it is planning to introduce a modern apprenticeship training program in the country (National Education Policy 2009). In the meantime, the government, together with assistance from international donor community, is preparing the National Skills Development Policy, including National Technical & Vocational Qualifications Framework (NTVQF), as key commitments to the strengthening and further growth of skills development in Bangladesh. The government has already made commitments in Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) II to the effect that 15 While there must be a check on population growth, the existing population has to be trained in semi-or- full skill trades enabling them to be self-employed within or outside the country. As the country does not generate enough number of employments within its boundaries, the only future route to economic emancipation for our people is to seek employment outside the country. They are doing it in an unplanned way resulting in only export of unskilled manpower to foreign lands who are taking jobs which are lowest in the earning ladder, i.e., manual and menial works. The recruiting agencies are giving them some training which are need based and good for survival, but not adequate for taking better-pay jobs. Besides job-related skills, language and communication skill plays a very vital role for getting jobs, survival and delivering jobs. As English is the International language of today, lack of proficiency in English is deterring them from getting access to better jobs. Public-Private Partnership is the key to make vocational training made widespread and available to remotest corners of the country. Manpower recruiting agencies do provide some skill based training on a need basis and employment type, but this is neither adequate nor structured. The present curricula for various trades are neither adequate nor relevant to the job market. The main challenge for the skill development system is to overcome inadequate orientation to the labor market. Formal providers of technical and vocational education and training do not have strong linkages with the private sector employers that drive the changing patterns of labor demand, nor do they have proper incentives to build those connections, which would ensure that skill development courses are relevant and useful to both graduates and employers. Motivation plays a very big role in attracting learners and their retention in trade schools. One of the reasons of high drop-out rate is the failure to see by the learners the future prospect of such training. Hence a linkage between training and employment is essential for the success and continuity of TEVT. It has been observed by foreign employers that Bangladeshi workers are loyal, disciplined and hardworking. They have the rare quality of adapting to new situation and job environments. These characteristics, a docile nature and low expectations resulting in lower bargaining power, have made them attractive to foreign recruiters. We can tap this advantage and go for up-selling to prospective employers by adding skills to our aspiring workers. The economic emancipation of future Bangladesh lies on a number of factors of which Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) would play a key role because of huge population growth and the demand for educated and skilled manpower is increasing. Careful centralized planning and building valued based partnership with the private sector would see a tremendous growth in TVET and help a society under poverty turn to a society of prosperity. 6.0 Recommendations: Based on the observation and inferences drawn, a number of recommendations can be made for improving TVET in Bangladesh and ensure employment and economic emancipation for the people. 16 Lack of Co-ordination. Human resource development activities are not well coordinated. There is no coordination among the primary, secondary, and tertiary education systems. The quality, syllabus structure, teaching methodologies, styles, and facilities for the same courses or topics differ from institution to institution. Lack of investment. Both the government and private sector provide few resources for HRD in Bangladesh. HRD programs are handicapped by the scarcity of funds. Lack of trained instructors. Experienced, efficient, and trained instructors or teachers are a rarity in Bangladesh. In addition the lack of funding makes it difficult to hire qualified instructors. Lack of Facilities. Technologies to support learning (Multi media, OHP, Internet, Computerized programs, and other audiovisual devices) are almost absent in Bangladesh. This lack of facilities constrains the development of HRD programs. Lack of Communication. The teacher student communication, particularly out of classroom/routine lecture, is seldom. This is mainly because teachers at public institutions are not checked for their accountability. There are no teachers' performance assessment, HRD programs monitoring and evaluation systems in Bangladesh. Hence there is little opportunity to make improvements to the programs. Improper Licensing. Government has approved so many institutions for human resource development without any given directives or guidelines. This lack of standards allows opportunities for running fraudulent programs. Particularly in the TVET sub-sector, there are further problems such as insufficient student competencies (key or basic competences) at entry-level (input stage), the TVET curricula are not modern and effective2 enough, lack of devoted instructors, extremely insufficient instructors, insufficient laboratory equipment; insufficient (in some cases, not at all) self-learning facilities at training institutes (for example using information and communication technology (ICT), institute library and laboratory resources), inferior quality of instruction (curriculum delivery), inefficient usage of industrial attachment periods. However, the competencies of polytechnic graduates have been deteriorating due to many reasons for long. The graduates are hardly able to secure jobs in their relevant fields in national and international job markets. Keeping the above long list of drawbacks in mind, the planners of HR development in Bangladesh can design TVET programs that are free of those shortcomings and the weaknesses can be turned into strengths. Market opportunities for technical education and vocational graduates are excellent and the associated risks are low, hence the prospect of TVET is bright in Bangladesh. 5.0 Conclusion: Bangladesh can no longer bear the load of its mammoth population. She is tottering under the heavy burden of 160 million people, most of who are non-productive and are dependent on others for a living.
