Youths with vocational education are boon

Bangladesh will have a very bright future if it can create large numbers of young people coming into work with vocational education, said visiting UK's Permanent Secretary for the Department for International Development (DFID) Mark Lowcock.

"If the country can create large numbers of young people coming out of education system, especially vocational education system like this (UCEP), then Bangladesh will have a very bright future," he told the news agency after visiting an institution in the capital yesterday.

After visiting the Underprivileged Children's Educational Programs, UCEP-Bangladesh, Mark also said it is very encouraging and exciting to see the progress they have made so far.

Asked about future plans to bring more young people under vocational education, he said they want to "understand" how the government is going to put in place the policies which allow lots of other institutions to work together.

It will help bring a much larger number of young people under the net who will have this opportunity and play their role.

He said this is just the beginning of the "fantastic journey" for Bangladeshi young people who will be able to contribute more to the country through acquiring knowledge.

Mark hoped that the young people will continue to help build the nation and ensure a successful future of the country contributing towards building the nation.

He said the UK attaches importance to a number of issues and they want to make sure that nobody is left behind.

"In Bangladesh, there has been enormous progress made in lifting poverty," he said adding that they want to make sure that everyone goes to school. "The job is not done yet".

Earlier, he interacted with boys and girls at the UCEP and their mentors, and listened to their success stories. The students said they do not feel deprived today as they had felt in the past and sought continued support for their further study.