The government has planned to spend Tk 2836.96 billion for education sector over the next three fiscal years under a mid-term plan as it has given utmost importance to building skilled manpower to be equipped with modern knowledge of science and technology.
Of the total amount, Tk 857.62 billion has been earmarked for the 2020-21 fiscal year while Tk 942.80 billion for 2021-22 fiscal and 1036.54 billion for 2022-23 fiscal years.
The allocation for the education sector was Tk 475.74 billion in 2017-18 fiscal year followed by Tk 662.73 billion in 2018-19 and Tk 770.38 billion in 2019-20 fiscal years.
According to an official document, the government has taken various types of steps for turning all the people of the country into skilled and educated human resources, aiming to attain ‘developing country’ status for Bangladesh by 2024.
With that view in mind, the government is taking various projects and programmes, which are contributing to development of an inclusive quality education system for all.
The document says the government has taken initiatives to expand and modernise the exiting education system through developing new infrastructures, distribution of free textbooks, flourishing IT-based education and distribution of food among school children.
The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, meanwhile, has taken steps for increasing the number of teachers, continuation of stipends, encouraging the use of ICT in education-related activities.
Under the mid-term plan, the government will give priority to setting up of ICT-based community learning and skill development training centres, distribution of IT materials in every school, introduction of multimedia facilities and strengthening online monitoring system.
The government is already implementing ‘Secondary Education Development Programme’ for the development of the secondary education system in the country.
Under this programme, the government has taken steps to expand infrastructures and set up new ones for enhancing the capacity of secondary and higher secondary education.
According to the document, it also has taken a move for setting up upazila training and resource centres, expand MPO scheme in private schools, providing scholarships for extraordinary students, and arranging trainings for teachers under the Integrated Education Information System Programme.
More importantly, the document says, the government has given importance to job-oriented technical and vocational education under the Madrassah and Vocational Education Board.
In this regard, the document mentions, computer or technical education has been made compulsory alongside organising competitions to recognise performance and skills.
Some 329 upazilas will have technical schools and colleges with the existing 100 technical schools and colleges, setting up polytechnic institutes exclusively for girls in four divisional cities and setting up four engineering universities in four divisions.
The Science and Technology Ministry is implementing various research and development programmes under which there will be ‘National Institute of Biotechnology’, ‘Nuclear Medical Physics Institutes’ with three ultramodern laboratories, ‘Institute of Mining, Mineralogy, Meteorology’ in Joypurhat with three ultramodern laboratories for conducting research on mineral resources.
According to the official document, setting up of cyclotron and pet-CT and institute of nuclear medical physics have been put in the priority list.UNB
