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ADB to Help Bangladesh Improve Vocational Education System

DHAKA, BANGLADESH (18 June 2008) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Bangladesh today signed loan agreement totaling $50 million to help improve the country’s technical skills training system to create better wage and employment prospects. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will co-finance the initiative with a $6 million grant assistance, which is under the approval process.

ERD Secretary Md Aminul Islam Bhuiyan signed for the Government while Hua Du, Country Director of ADB’s Bangladesh Resident Mission, signed on behalf of ADB at a ceremony at ERD, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka today.

The assistance from ADB’s concessional Asian Development Fund will help the Ministry of Education of Bangladesh to make its technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programs market-oriented, short-term, and relevant, especially for the thousands of unemployed and underemployed adult poor who were not able to finish the eighth grade.

"The project supports the government’s plan to reduce poverty and promote economic growth by providing market-relevant skills training to more Bangladeshis, including the poor and the disadvantaged,” said Hua Du, Country Director of ADB’s Bangladesh Resident Mission. “The project plans to train about 70,000 people over the five years of implementation."

Under the project, experts in the ready-made garments and textiles, light engineering, and construction industries – the three main employment sectors in the country – will help create skills training programs relevant to the industries.

Currently, the TVET system and the needs of the employment sectors are mismatched, as the practical component of the curriculum is not effectively taught; a majority of the teachers lack training and practical skills and have no industrial experience; the TVET institutions have poorly equipped workshop; lack teaching and training materials, and adequate classrooms and workshops. Additionally, the current formal TVET system excludes people who have not completed the eighth grade. Through the project assistance, young people who have not completed the eighth grade will be given access to training programs, and training workshops will be conducted in selected poor communities.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2007, it approved $10.1 billion of loans, $673 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $243 million.

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