Technical and Vocational Education through Distance Learning in Bangladesh: Social Impacts and Benefits

Abstract

The globalization of industry increases the demand of more highly educated skilled workers; but traditional academic curriculum systems have not enough scope to develop such skills. To fulfill the demand of skill manpower policy-makers and educators must providing multiple pathways through high school and giving more emphasis on vocational education. // Many countries have learned a lot by transforming from industrialization to knowledge society. By providing a well-managed structured general education and vocational education for the citizen, they have reached at a higher standard. Bangladesh has not enough infrastructure facilities to facilitate its people to become a skilled manpower. The working age population (15-64) is grown up every year. About three million Bangladeshi people stayed abroad and about 250,000 Bangladeshis goes abroad for living or work. These huge numbers of population and labor force have not been a skilled worker due to lack of training and proper education. // Bangladesh Open University (BOU) provides education for under privilege; drop out learners. Now it is offering some programs which have been partially supported to the vocational and technical education. BOU has countrywide network by 12 Regional Resources Centers, 80 Coordinating Offices and more than 1260 Study Centers to delivers its educational program for the learners. BOU has great opportunity to use its countrywide networks to provide vocational education in a distance mode especially for the work forces and huge unskilled population. By this, a skilled and trained manpower would be increased whom they would be a potential works forces for the countries development. // This paper try to explore the current situation of VET in Bangladesh by emphasizing its effort and attainment as well as the recent changes has been happen in the job market pattern and also provide some suggestion for the policy-makers to introduce effective methods for VET in Bangladesh. // Paper ID: 47