Young Bangla of the Centre for Research and Information held its 43rd policy discussion session Let’s Talk on 7th February 2023. More than 300 youths from the Tangail district gathered on the Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University (MBSTU) campus and participated in this interactive session with the policymakers.
This Let’s Talk event was focused on the topic of Education and Employability. Related policymakers, experts, and youth leaders acted as panelists and shared the floor with the young students, aspirants, and professionals. The purpose is to bring out their questions, concerns, and desires regarding education and employability.
Mohibul Hasan Chowdhoury, MP, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Naheed Ezaher Khan, MP, Member of the Standing Committee on Ministry of Defense, Professor Dr. Md. Forhad Hossain, Vice-Chancellor of Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University (MBSTU), and Zahir Iqbal Nannu, Joy Bangla Youth Award 2017 Achiever participated as panelists.
The participants elaborately discussed policy changes regarding topics such as outcome-based education, industry-driven skills, blended education, meta-campus, smart education, virtual classroom, and more.
Mohibul Hasan Chowdhoury, MP, Deputy Education Minister said, “We are aware of the significant gap between our academia and the industry. To solve this problem, our policy approach is, ‘Outcome Based Education (OBE)’. The outcome-based education refers to the strategy of creating 99% skilled manpower based on their discipline. The objective is to create cross-cutting skills among the students and develop an outcome-based curriculum to support the objective, and to bring uniformity, there will be an accreditation council.” He requested those who could experience the new policy change, should pursue the skill-based courses of the National Technical Vocational Qualification Framework (NTVQF) under the National Qualification Framework which is up to level 6.
He also said, “We need blended education to carry out STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education in the rural and marginalized communities. If the education mode can be changed into the audiovisual mode, it will eventually fill in the gaps of skilled educators or teachers in those areas. We want to establish a blended learning technique step by step so that the teachers who lack pedagogy training can be made useful as they can be guides for the audiovisual classes”
Naheed Ezaher Khan, MP, said, “I believe our education qualification is up to international standards. The medical, agriculture, and ICT sector are performing well as many international students come here to acquire degrees. But there are always places to improve, for example, we can affiliate with international faculties.” She also advised the youths to pursue education to bring out positive human practices. The Member of Parliament said, “The most important education that we can pursue is humanity and the best practice is for values. Wherever you go, cherish these two qualities and you will shine brighter.”
Professor Dr. Md. Forhad Hossain, Vice-Chancellor of Mawlana Bhashani Science and Technology University (MBSTU) said, “Education and learning should not be confined to jobs. Education is a tool to build humanity and a nation. We are the children of a country with great history and sacrifices. It is our duty to prepare ourselves with education and skill to make this country move forward.”
Zahir Iqbal Nannu, Joy Bangla Youth Award 2017 Achiever said, “Even though there are multiple disadvantages to using too much internet and social media, there are many things that can help us in our learning process if we are willing to take advantage. I feel that our self-learning process can be improved using social media and the internet. The 4th industrial revolution is ahead of us. Our honorable Prime Minister has declared the inception of Smart Bangladesh. She has mentioned the 4 pillars that would build the future of Bangladesh which are: Smart Citizens, Smart Economy, Smart Government, and Smart Society. We already know about the ongoing global AI revolution. During this revolution, people will lose and gain jobs at the same time. We only have to know that those who are not skilled in ICT will lose the booming opportunities. Bangladesh is already performing very well in this emerging period and we hope to continue this through your skill and collective development.”
