Staff Reporter:
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Education, Primary and Mass Education and spokesperson at the Prime Minister’s Office Mahdi Amin yesterday said the National University (NU) would be transformed into one of the country’s leading centres for producing skilled human resources, fostering innovation and de-veloping responsible citizens.
“The National University, as the country’s largest higher education network, will no longer remain mere-ly a degree-awarding institution. It will evolve into a leading hub of knowledge, modern training, skills development and nation-building,” Mahdi Amin said.
He said this while speaking as the special guest at the inauguration of a teacher training program on “Skill-Based Education” in the National University curriculum at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Con-ference Center in the capital.
Prime Minister Tareque Rahman formally inaugurated the program.
The adviser said the reform initiatives launched at the National University over the past three and a half months were being guided by the Prime Minister’s long-term vision and the ruling party’s electoral mani-festo.
He said the government was committed to making higher education more employment-oriented, skill-based and relevant to real-life needs instead of remaining certificate-centric.
To achieve this objective, he said, the authorities had undertaken a series of initiatives, including expan-sion of vocational and technical education, introduction of career centres and job placement services, strengthening industry-academia collaboration, increasing apprenticeship and internship opportunities, establishing language centers and promoting third-language learning.
The initiatives also include the “Learning with Happiness” program, the “One Student, One Tree” cam-paign and various environment-friendly and community-based activities, he added.
Highlighting the significance of the National University, Mahdi Amin said it was the world’s second-largest university by enrolment, with more than 30 lakh students studying at its 2,285 affiliated colleges across the country.
He said over 400,000 female students enrolled in affiliated colleges this year alone, reflecting the coun-try’s continued progress in women’s empowerment.
Despite producing a large number of graduates annually, many still struggle to secure employment, he noted.
Therefore, transforming the National University was not merely an institutional reform but a broader movement aimed at improving education, employment opportunities, human resource development and the livelihoods of millions of families, he said.
He said the country’s education system, including the National University, suffered significant setbacks during a prolonged period of authoritarian rule.
The present government, he said, was determined to rebuild the sector and produce technologically skilled, competent and patriotic citizens who would drive Bangladesh’s future economic progress.
Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon and Secondary and Higher Education Division Sec-retary Abdul Khaleque spoke as special guests, among others.
Vice-Chancellor of the National University Professor Dr A.S.M. Amanullah chaired the programme.
