President Abdul Hamid on Sunday asked the authorities concerned to plan academic curriculum in line with the labour market.
"We need to plan academic curriculum in line with the labour market. It is often seen that students cannot study as per their interests and preferences," he said at a discussion organised on the ocassion of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibir Rahman.
The Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh ( APUB) organised the programme at a hotel in the city.
He said that Bangladesh has already evolved from a least developed to a developing country and the government has set a target to become a developed country by 2041.
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"In order to achieve this goal, we have to make our young generation educated and skilled," he said .
"Skilled manpower needs to be created in education, health, agriculture, economy, trade and commerce, engineering, and information technology," he said.
He called for ensuring that the university education does not become certificate-based in any way.
The president suggested private universities keep some seat tuition fee-free for poor and meritorious students.
Urging university teachers to come forward in research work, he said that researchers need to have enough interest and enthusiasm to know what is being done in other countries about their teaching.
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Education Minister Dipu Moni, Deputy Minister for Education Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel spoke in the programme while APUB's chairman Kabir Hossain presided over it.