Qualitative change in tech education soon

Nahid tells roundtable

23 June 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

The students having technical and vocational degrees would get opportunity to pursue higher studies at any time, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said yesterday. The government would take all necessary steps to modernise and bring qualitative changes in technical education, he also said. The minister was speaking as the chief guest at a roundtable titled “Importance of Technical Education in National Level” organised by The Daily Ittefaq at the Jatiya Press Club to mark the Technical and Vocational Education Week 2010. Nahid opined that technical education would exert a positive impact on the country's economy, mode of production and overall socio-economic scenario. He, however, said technical education is yet to reach a dignified level socially and that is why many people do not want to enroll their children in such courses. “This mindset needs to be changed”, he said and also stressed the need for a massive campaign to raise awareness in this regard. Industries Minister Dilip Barua said technical education had been ignored since independence. “Technical education is needed for the sake of industrialisation of the country, as industries have become more technology oriented”, he said. Prof AMM Safiullah, vice chancellor of Buet, said technical and vocational education should be turned into a social movement to explore its potentials and increase its social recognition. Prof Md Zafar Iqbal, head of the department of Computer Science and Engineering of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, said “We could turn our human force into resources through providing technical education to the poor students.” Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof AAMS Arefin Siddique, noted economist Qazi Kholikuzzaman Ahmad, among others, addressed the programme.