Bangladesh and China have signed a memorandum of understanding on vocational teacher training and launched an international service centre and three other platforms to strengthen technical and vocational education cooperation, Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Spokesperson Mahdi Amin said on Monday, describing the Bangladeshi delegation’s recent China visit as highly successful.
“The recent China visit was quite fruitful,” he said while addressing a press briefing on the visit at the Ministry of Education on Monday.
Mahdi, also Prime Minister’s adviser, said the three-day visit focused primarily on exploring ways to utilise China’s experience in technical and vocational education and establish stronger links between educational institutions and industries in Bangladesh.
He said China has extensive experience and success in providing quality technical education at relatively low cost, particularly through strong institutional links between educational institutions and industries.
During the visit, a high-level meeting was held with representatives of 19 leading Chinese technical and vocational universities to discuss making Bangladesh’s curricula more practical and employment-oriented, the PMO spokesperson said.
He said a symposium was also held with 11 leading institutions to explore ways to transform Bangladesh’s young population into a skilled workforce.
The delegation visited a specialised “Vocational Education Town”, where 11 renowned technical universities are located, as well as several industrial sites to observe how technical institutes, universities and industries cooperate institutionally.
MoU, service centre and three platforms
An MoU titled “Agreement on the China-Bangladesh Vocational Teacher Training” was signed, giving priority to developing the skills of teachers at Bangladesh’s technical education institutions, Mahdi said.
An international platform titled “China-Bangladesh Industry and Education Integration International Service Centre” was also formally launched.
Three additional platforms were inaugurated to support the development of technical education, including China-Bangladesh Vocational Teacher Training Centre, Bangladesh Vocational Education Research Centre and Bangladesh Chinese Language Plus Skill Development Cooperation Centre.
The initiatives will focus on curriculum development, stronger industry-academia linkages and bringing Bangladesh’s technical education up to international standards, the PMO spokesperson said.
The delegation also visited advanced research and development and smart manufacturing facilities in China and closely observed cooperation between industries and local educational institutions, he added.
Mandarin language, skills development
Noting that Mandarin has been identified as an important area of bilateral educational cooperation, Mahdi said the government wants to introduce Chinese as a “third language” alongside Bangla and English, in line with the Prime Minister’s education vision.
Discussions were held on enriching the curriculum, bringing skilled Chinese language teachers to Bangladesh and integrating language education with technical and vocational training, he said.
The two sides also discussed modernising curricula, strengthening industry-academia collaboration, establishing institutional partnerships between technical institutes of the two countries, conducting joint research and introducing joint degree programmes.
More scholarships sought
Bangladesh has urged China to provide a sufficient number of full scholarships so that Bangladeshi students can pursue higher education in technical and vocational fields at Chinese institutions, said the adviser.
He said there had been significant progress on the issue at the ministerial level.
“We want our students to go to China for higher education not only in conventional academic disciplines but also in technical and vocational education,” Mahdi said.
The government also wants to establish effective institutional networks between renowned Chinese technical institutions and Bangladeshi polytechnic institutes and universities, he said.
The PMO spokesperson said the initiative will also help create a pool of Bangladeshi workers proficient in Mandarin and equipped with technical skills for employment in Chinese projects and companies operating in Bangladesh.
He said Chinese multinational companies operating worldwide have a significant demand for workers with both language and technical skills, creating new employment opportunities for Bangladeshi youth.
Visa process to be eased
Mahdi said effective steps have been taken to simplify the visa process for Chinese language teachers, researchers and technical experts coming to Bangladesh.
He said productive discussions have already been held in Dhaka among the education minister, the Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the issue.
Describing the three-day visit as an important step in strengthening people-to-people connectivity between Bangladesh and China through technical education, the adviser said the initiative will create stronger partnerships between the younger generations of the two countries and open up new employment and career opportunities.
He said the visit will serve as a milestone in improving technical education in Bangladesh, claiming that such a coordinated state-level initiative giving priority to technical and vocational education had not been seen before.
“We want to build a modern education system where we transform education into skills, skills into employment and employment into the immense potential of our youth,” Mahdi said.
He expressed hope that Bangladesh-China educational cooperation will reach new heights in the coming days.
The adviser also thanked Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon for his leadership, saying bilateral discussions were successfully held with around 50 leading technical education institutions and universities during the short visit.