DHAKA (ILO News) - At the third National Steering Committee (NSC) meeting held on 3 June 2021, the Bangladesh National Qualifications Framework (BNQF) steering Committee, headed by the NSC Chair, the Honourable Minister of Education Dr Dipu Moni approved the 10-level BNQF structure, pathways, and level descriptors- a notable milestone for skills development in Bangladesh.

The BNQF weaves together general education, technical-vocational education and higher education into a harmonized quality-assured system. It defines pathways and equivalencies, which provide access to qualifications and assist people to move easily and readily between the different education sectors and between these sectors and the labour market.

The final documents is the result of four rounds of consultation and almost over 60 workshops and bilateral meetings with several government agencies in the education sector – the Secondary and Higher Education Division (SHED), the Technical and Madrasah Education Division (TMED), Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Bangladesh Technical Education Board (BTEB), University Grants Commission (UGC) and relevant technical working groups.

Moreover, the inputs from professional associations of diploma engineers, doctors, Bangladesh Employers Federation (BEF), the National Coordination Committee on Workers Education (NCCWE), and the National Skills Development Authority (NSDA) made it much stronger and coherent.

Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, ILO Country Office for Bangladesh, appreciated the Chair, Dr Dipu Moni, and the co-chair Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury for their prompt and effective support in conducting the BNQF NSC meeting. He acknowledged that the BNQF has some complex steps ahead - such as the quality assurance system to address institutional pathways for recognition of prior learning, bridging courses, and the conversion of non-BNQF programmes.

Md. Aminul Islam Khan, Secretary, TMED, who conducted the meeting, thanked all speakers and assured that TMED would immediately act on the next steps to develop the BNQF quality assurance system and Implementation guidelines. He also advised to include pre-vocational qualifications in the BNQF documents, which was the concern of the primary education division and non-formal education division.

Dr Dipu Moni, the NSC Chair, and Minister, MoE firmly adheres that BNQF will uphold lifelong learning and other open and flexible qualification pathways such as RPL, bridging courses, and credit transfers. The BNQF will increase the employability of almost 2.5 million youth entering into the labour market every year. She stressed to the implementation of the BNQF immediately, otherwise the country cannot reap the benefits of the demographic dividend.

Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury, Deputy Minister, MOE, advised the TMED to take the necessary next steps for BNQF implementation. He asked the NSDA to leave the certifications works to the Ministry. He likewise suggested that NSDA will take equally challenging roles of conducting skills anticipation by analyzing the labour market to mitigate skills mismatch and prepare the workforce for future works.

Maurizio Cian, Minister Counsellor, European Union to Bangladesh, highly appreciated the Education ministry for the extensive progress made to develop BNQF. He also recognized the valuable contribution from all the relevant stakeholders and support from the Skills 21 project. In addition, he assured that the EU would continue to provide budget support for the TVET sector.

Md. Mohsin, Additional Secretary, TMED, presented the 10-level BNQF structure, pathways and level descriptors of the TVET qualifications (Level 1 to 6) as agreed by the TMED and the NSDA. After the presentation Md. Mahbub Hossain, Secretary, SHED; Dulal Krishna Saha, EC-NSDA, Golam Md. Hashibul Alam, Secretary, MoPME; Naimul Ahsan Jewel, Member Secretary of the National Coordination Committee for Workers' Education (NCCWE); AKM.A Hamid, IDEB President; Farooq Ahmed, BEF Secretary-General; Professor Dr Sonjoy Kumar Adhikary, BAC Member, spoke at the event.

The ILO and the EU worked with the government in the establishment of the National Technical Vocational Qualification Framework (NTVQF). The NTVQF, the first sectoral qualifications framework in Bangladesh, obtained approval from the National Skills Development Policy in 2011.

Skills 21 project is a joint initiative of the Government of Bangladesh and the International Labour Organization (ILO), funded by the European Union. The project seeks to increase productivity and employment opportunities through an environmentally conscious, inclusive, demand-driven, and interlinked skills development system responding to the needs of the labour market.