The world is undergoing fast-paced changes in terms of technology adaptation and its impact to the well-being of the people. TVET, for it to be continually relevant, should be able to adopt new initiatives and make efforts to cultivate holistic, entrepreneurial and balanced graduates that are globally competitive and meet the needs of the industries leaning towards a more efficient, technology-driven future or commonly known as the Industrial Revolution (I.R.) 4.0.
Such is the rationale of the In-Country Program jointly organized by the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) and the Directorate of Technical Education – Technical and Madrasah Education Division (DTE), Ministry of Education in Bangladesh from December 8-12, 2019. The program, held at the Technical Teachers’ Training College (TTTC) in Dhaka, involved the participation of 45 participants from TVET institutions across the country.
Honorable guests during the program inauguration (left to right): Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, CPSC Director General; Mr. Mohibul Chowdhury, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Education, Mr. Rawnak Mahmud, Director General of DTE and Engr. Md. Jahangir Alam, Director of Planning and Development, DTE.
For five days, the participants were able to understand the dynamics of IR 4.0 and its disruption in TVET and identify the components of TVET to address IR 4.0. They also had the opportunity to apply the basic knowledge on digital technology on their own TVET curricula.
The program coordinator and resource person, Engr. Abdul Ghani Rajput, demonstrating an e-Learning tool to the participants.
The program arrangements were supervised by Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, Director General of CPSC and Mr. Rawnak Mahmud, Additional Secretary and Director General, Directorate of Technical Education (DTE). Local coordination was facilitated by Engr. Md. Jahangir Alam, presently the Director of Planning and Development of DTE and the Former CPSC Faculty Specialist from 2010 to 2012. Discussions about the local context were provided by Mr. Asad-Uz-Zuman, Head of the Future of Work at the Access to Information (a2i) Program. The program coordinator and resource person assigned to this program is Engr. Abdul Ghani Rajput, CPSC Faculty Specialist.
Invited guests at the opening ceremony include Mr. Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury, the Honorable Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Education and Mr. A.K.M. Zakir Hossain Bhuiyan, Secretary of the Technical and Madrasah Education, Ministry of Education.
National Seminar held in the program venue on December 9, 2019. The speakers are (left to right), Mr. Md. Morad Hossain Mollah of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board; Mr. Rawnak Mahmud, Director General of DTE; Engr. Abdul Ghani Rajput. Faculty Specialist of CPSC and Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, CPSC Director General.
The program also included a half-day National Seminar on “TVET 4.0- Opportunities and Challenges of IR 4.0” held on December 9, 2019. The seminar, attended by 60 people, was the venue for the participants to share the disruption of IR4.0 amongst TVET stakeholders, discuss opportunities and challenges in TVET 4.0, enhance the awareness about TVET 4.0 in line with IR 4.0 and empower TVET institutions for new learning spaces in line with 21st Century Skills. The speakers tapped in the program include: Mr. Md. Morad Hossain Mollah of the Bangladesh Technical Education Board; Mr. Rawnak Mahmud, Director General of DTE; Engr. Abdul Ghani Rajput. Faculty Specialist of CPSC and Dr. Ramhari Lamichhane, CPSC Director General.
