Education Minister Dr A N M Ehsanul Hoque Milon on Thursday said the government has increased the allocation for the technical education sector by Tk 6,000 crore in the new budget, raising the total allocation to Tk 18,000 crore to expand vocational and technical education across the country.
Speaking in Parliament on a private member's resolution moved by BNP lawmaker from Gaibandha-4 Mohammad Shamim Kaiser, the minister said the government has attached special importance to technical education as part of its efforts to develop a skilled workforce.
He said the enhanced budget reflects the government's commitment to strengthening technical education following the Prime Minister's directive to prioritise the sector.
Milon said technical education facilities are being expanded under various ongoing development projects in different constituencies. Referring to the proposal raised by Shamim Kaiser, he said a technical school has already been established in the MP's constituency, while another has been included under a project involving the construction of 100 technical schools.
He also noted that another project covering 329 technical institutions is currently under implementation.
The minister said the four unions mentioned by the MP already have a significant number of educational institutions, including 20 secondary schools, nine dakhil madrasas, two colleges, one alim madrasa and one fazil madrasa.
He said the government has introduced vocational education streams in schools, colleges and madrasas across Bangladesh to equip students with practical skills.
Students enrolled in vocational education receive a monthly stipend of Tk 500, Tk 1,000 annually for educational materials and another Tk 1,000 to cover form fill-up fees, he added.
Milon said the incentives are intended to encourage enrolment in technical education and help produce skilled human resources to meet growing domestic and international demand.
He observed that while many developed countries are facing shortages of human resources, Bangladesh has the opportunity to transform its growing population into a skilled workforce through expanded technical education.
The minister said if local representatives submit proposals, the government has the capacity to introduce SSC Vocational, HSC Vocational, Dakhil Vocational and Alim Vocational programmes in areas where such facilities are needed.
He also announced that the government has a plan to establish one technical school and college in every upazila.
Highlighting the existing infrastructure, Milon said Bangladesh now has 51 diploma institutes and 161 technical colleges across the country.
He urged lawmakers to communicate with the ministry and submit demi-official (DO) letters seeking new institutions in underserved areas, assuring them that proposals would be examined and considered based on need.