Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday asked diploma engineers never to compromise on the quality of works as they are the main force of the country’s sustainable development, reports UNB.

“The implementation of government plans depends on your skills, honesty and sincerity. Never compromise on the quality control of any work, no matter what...this is my request to you,” she said.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day International Conference on Skills for the Future World of Work and TVET for Global Competitiveness at Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city.

Sheikh Hasina said this year the government announced over a Tk 4 lakh crore national budget fixing ADP allocation at Tk 1.53 lakh crore. “We’ll have to implement this ADP in the current fiscal.” Putting emphasis on maintaining the quality of these development programmes, she hoped Bangladesh will head towards prosperity with this trend of development.

“You’re the main source of power in this regard as you do the main works. Ensure the quality and keep up the pace of development works. This is what I expect from you,” she said.

She underscored the need for integrating technical and vocational education with the mainstream education to turn the country’s huge population into human resources.

She said the government has decided to establish one technical school and college in every upazila of the country, and the work in 100 upazilas is progressing. Teachers for these schools would be recruited from among diploma engineers, she added.

The Prime Minister said her government has been revamping and branding its entire Technical and Vocational Education Training to make TVET exciting, recognised and dignified one.

She said her government during the last eight and a half years increased the vocational education to 14 percent from 1.8 percent. Hasina said the present government has taken a decision in principle to increase the rate to 20 percent in 2020, 30 percent in 2030 and 40 percent in 2040 to make education a time-befitting one like in Japan, Singapore, Korea and Malaysia.

She said the government is implementing massive programmes for flourishing and expanding technical and vocational education.

Hasina mentioned that a total of 516 polytechnic institutes, including 49 under government management, is conducting 4-year long diploma engineering course across the country.

She said there has been a revolutionary change in the living standard of people following pro-people uses of technology for their welfare.

She said today Bangladesh has one of the largest pool of IT freelancers (around half a million) across the country while the government is now emphasising more women freelancers, and also supporting development of IT freelancers in remote or underprivileged areas.

Hasina said Bangladesh has over 4,500 Union Digital Centres across the country and these have created a new economy: every month, these centres deliver over 5 million services.

Besides, these have saved poor citizens over half a billion dollars since 2010. 10,000 new digital self-employment opportunities have been created.

Hasina said this conference could be a platform to formulate future courses of actions for the researchers relating to technical and vocational education and training.

She urged the IDEB and Technical and Madrasha Education division of education ministry to take joint initiatives to build the platform.

Among others, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid and President of Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB) AKMA Hamid spoke on the occasion.

IDEB and Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC), Manila jointly organised the programme in association with Ministry of Education.

Over 1,000 experts, particularly from the technical education sector from home and abroad, are participating in the mega event.