Technical and Madrasah Education Division Secretary Dr KM Kabirul Islam spoke at a seminar on promotion of admission to technical and vocational education and benefit of training at Sunamganj District Shilpakala Academy today. Photo : BSS

SUNAMGANJ, July 5, 2025 (BSS) - Technical and Madrasah Education Division Secretary Dr KM Kabirul Islam today said government plans to establish a technical college in every upazila and the success of this initiative hinges on the sincerity and dedication of the teachers.

He made this remarks at a seminar on promotion of admission to technical and vocational education and benefit of training, organized by Bangladesh Education Board Dhaka at the Hasan Raja Hall Room of Sunamganj District Shilpakala Academy.

The secretary said teachers must be resolute  in their commitment to enhancing the quality of education. “Merely increasing the number of A+ grade through institutional competition is not enough. Education must go hand in hand with skill development. Only then can we effectively tackle the challenge of unemployment,” he said.

He further said “For the past 30–40 years, technical and madrasa education in Bangladesh has been neglected, which is extremely self-destructive. By the year 2030, we must increase technical education enrolment to 30 percent.”

Kabirul Islam observed “To eliminate unemployment in Bangladesh, there is no alternative to technical education. To further improve the quality of education, compulsory education should be extended up to Grade 8.”

He noted “There are 4 million students under the National University, but one million of them become unemployed each year. On the other hand, there are 1.7 million students in the technical stream and 3 million in the madrasa stream. These numbers clearly show how essential technical education is.”

He also revealed that technical programmes will be introduced in another 500 madrasas next year.

Madrasa and Technical Education Teachers of Sylhet Division participated in  the seminar.

With Engineer Md. Ruhul Amin, Chairman of Bangladesh Technical Education Board, in the chair, the occasion was addressed among others by  Mohammad Rihan Uddin, Director (Acting), Directorate of Technical Education, Regional Office, Sylhet, Engineer Md. Anwarul Kabir, Director (Curriculum), Bangladesh Technical Education Board and Md. Rezaul Karim, Additional District Magistrate and Acting Deputy Commissioner, Sunamganj   as special guests.

During the open discussion session, Maulana Nurul Islam, Principal, Meruakhal Mominia Madrasa, Bishwambharpur, Maulana Abul Kalam, Principal, Maizbari Alhera Jamia Islamia, Sunamganj and Md. Kamruzzaman Chowdhury, Principal, Kamalbazar Fazil Madrasa, among others, also spoke.