Sunamganj: Technical and Madrasah Education Division Secretary Dr. KM Kabirul Islam announced the government’s plan to establish a technical college in every upazila, emphasizing that the success of this initiative depends on the teachers’ sincerity and dedication. He shared these insights during a seminar focused on promoting technical and vocational education, organized by the Bangladesh Education Board Dhaka at the Hasan Raja Hall Room of Sunamganj District Shilpakala Academy.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Dr. Kabirul Islam stressed the importance of teachers’ commitment to improving education quality. He remarked that simply increasing A+ grades through institutional competition is insufficient and stressed the need for education to align with skill development to combat unemployment effectively.
Dr. Islam highlighted the neglect of technical and madrasa education over the past 30-40 years in Bangladesh, describing it as self-destructive. He outlined a target to increase technical education enrolment to 30 percent by 2030. To address unemployment, he emphasized that there is no alternative to technical education and suggested extending compulsory education up to Grade 8 to improve education quality further.
He pointed out that while 4 million students are enrolled under the National University, 1 million become unemployed each year. In contrast, the technical stream has 1.7 million students, and the madrasa stream has 3 million, underscoring the critical need for technical education. Dr. Islam also revealed plans to introduce technical programs in another 500 madrasas next year.
The seminar saw participation from Madrasa and Technical Education Teachers of Sylhet Division, with Engineer Md. Ruhul Amin, Chairman of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board, presiding over the event. Special guests included Mohammad Rihan Uddin, Director (Acting) of the Directorate of Technical Education, Regional Office, Sylhet, Engineer Md. Anwarul Kabir, Director (Curriculum) of Bangladesh Technical Education Board, and Md. Rezaul Karim, Additional District Magistrate and Acting Deputy Commissioner of Sunamganj.
During the open discussion session, contributions came from Maulana Nurul Islam, Principal of Meruakhal Mominia Madrasa, Bishwambharpur, Maulana Abul Kalam, Principal of Maizbari Alhera Jamia Islamia, Sunamganj, and Md. Kamruzzaman Chowdhury, Principal of Kamalbazar Fazil Madrasa, among others.