Dhaka: Education Minister Dr. A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon today announced the government's intention to adopt China's 'industry-academia linkage' model to boost the technical skills of Bangladesh's youth and increase employment opportunities. "During our recent visit to China, we saw that the coordination between their industrial sector and educational institutions, or the 'industry-academia linkage' system, is very strong. We want to follow that model in transforming this system," Milon stated.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Milon, who also serves as the Primary and Mass Education Minister, made these remarks while speaking to journalists after a meeting titled 'Strategic Partnership Between Bangladesh and China in the Education Sector' at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A ministry release highlighted that China's education system is highly advanced, with the country offering scholarship opportunities to Bangladeshi students for higher education.
Milon further noted that special initiatives have been undertaken to streamline the visa process for Chinese language teachers coming to Bangladesh, while the process for Bangladeshi students to obtain Chinese visas has already been simplified. Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman and Prime Minister's Adviser on Education and Primary and Mass Education Mahdi Amin were among the attendees at the meeting.
The meeting was described as successful in recounting the delegation's visit to China from August 25 to 29, led by the education minister. During the visit, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed to establish the 'China-Bangladesh Vocational Education, Training and Research Centre'. Under this cooperation framework, the two nations will collaborate in various fields, including technical training programmes, bilingual educational materials, education-industry linkage, research centres, industrial training, visits to China, and specialised training.
Additionally, three significant cooperation platforms were inaugurated at the conference: the China-Bangladesh Vocational Teacher Training Centre, Bangladesh Vocational Education Research Centre, and Bangladesh 'Chinese Language+ Skill Development' Cooperation Centre. The meeting emphasized that these initiatives mark an important step towards a sustainable Bangladesh-China partnership, expressing hope that they would forge stronger links between education, practical skills, industrial demand, and future employment for Bangladesh's youth.
Prominent attendees included Secondary and Higher Education Secretary Abdul Khaleque, Technical and Madrasah Education Secretary Md Daud Mia, Primary and Mass Education Secretary Jesmin Nahar, and the Ambassador of China to Bangladesh Yao Wen.