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Supports
Mohammad Shamsuddoha
University of Chittagong
Human Resources are the most powerful propeller of a country’s economic growth and development.
Human Resource Development (HRD) is concerned with improving the aptitudes, skills, abilities,
knowledge, understanding and attitude of the employees of an enterprise (Jucius, 1993). There is a
consensus that the quality of the education system in Bangladesh is deteriorating. This deterioration is
evidenced by declining test scores, graduates with inadequate basic skills, increasing dropout rates and
the widening gap between industry needs and student capabilities (Fisher, 1993; Schargel, 1993).
Businesses have responded to this decline by demanding higher test scores and greater financial
accountability and by implementing their own educational programs (Shalala, 1993). This paper
examines these challenges and argues that business schools must become learning organizations to meet
the demands of students and the workplace. (Lorange, 1996).
Government, NGO and other private organizations are working to develop human resources to ensure that
Bangladash can compete in local and global markets. Academicians, researchers, the Government,
decision-makers, and others planners and administrators agree that human resources are the most vital
factor in the industrial development of Bangladesh. Formal training programs (business education,
technical education, technical training, vocational training and other training programs) will play a key
role in the development of its human resources. A survey of the existing literature reveals that little
research has been done on this topic.
The study included participants from 25 universities (5 Government sponsored, 20 private), the
Government, and private institutions situated in the capital city of Chittagong in Bangladesh. Some of the
respondents were in the city of Dhaka. Data were collected through a questionnaire. In addition, the
websites of participating institutions were reviewed for updated information. In total 300 respondents
were interviewed during the study period. Additional information was obtained by reviewing published
research conducted in the UK, the USA, and locally.
Copyright © 2003 Shamsuddoha & Khanam
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Limitations of the study
The study covered a very limited number of educational organizations. Some participants were neither
motivated nor interested in expressing their honest opinions. The scope of the study was also constrained
by limited available funding.
Analysis of Findings
Government Role.
The education sector is a priority area for the Bangladesh government and plays significant role
in overall development of Bangladesh. Education is considered a key strategy for effective human
resource development, poverty alleviation, and socioeconomic development, all which contribute to the
national development. There is a pressing need to develop a large part of the population into productive
workers through the coordination and interaction between people, educational institutions, training
programs, and technology. The government, with this end in view, has fostered such development efforts
through educational expansion and quality improvement initiatives in different sub-sectors of the
educational system.
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Impact of development interventions in education sector.
Poor students, especially females are being significantly benefited from the projects. Their
participation in schools has increased. This is not surprising because they are frequently neglected in their
family. The stipend projects are helping assuage the burden of the poor parents in meeting educational
costs. The PROMOTE project has brought opportunities for unemployed women to receive teachers
training in rural areas and to get employment in rural schools. This project is working with the objective
of employing 1000 women in rural secondary schools. With this end in view, several female hostels have
been made at the District and Thana levels to provide accommodations for the female trainees. This
project will offer 839 scholarships as well. This initiative has created inspiration among the female
trainees, who are looking for employment as teachers.
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Table 1: Government Budget on Education and percentage of allocation over all sectors.
Make an executive decision to (a) Establish a Teaching Service Commission to streamline teacher
recruitment, training and deployment for primary and post-primary education both in government and
non-government schools, (b) Operationally reform textbook printing, publishing, and distribution, (c)
Consolidate a sector-wide system for public expenditure tracking in education, (d) Revise and implement
the secondary, (e) Encourage the expansion of private TVET system, (f) Disseminate widely the strategic
plan for higher education, (g) Establish an independent accreditation mechanism for private universities,
and (h) Establish quality assurance mechanisms for public and private colleges and universities.
There are 17 state universities, 51 Private universities, 51 vocational institutions, and more than 25
NGO’s who are working hard to develop human resources through technical, educational, and specific
purpose job oriented training supports (www.ugc.com). In institutions who are specialized for a specified
service like BBA, MBA, Executive MBA, Insurance Management, International studies, Company MBA,
Pharmacy Management, or Library Science, specific training and integrated educational modules are
given to the learners.
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them to provide better services to the society. The Institute spearheads the formulation and
implementation of national cost accounting standards. Its goal is to help Bangladesh become an
industrialized nation by promoting and regulating Cost and Management Accounting profession towards
a market economy to enhance economic competitiveness and quality of life. The Institute was
reconstituted under the Cost and Management Accountants Ordinance, 1977 (Ordinance No. LIII of
1977) and regulated by the Cost and Management Accountants Regulations, 1980 (www.icmab.com)
Business Education.
Business education is tremendously expanded in Bangladesh. Most of the state universities and
private universities provide business education based on models and materials developed in the west,
particularly from the UK and USA. Out of 17 state universities, more than 10 are providing Business
education through their own business faculty. They seek to develop better methods of education which
will allow their students to be seen as valuable resources and help them find jobs. Of the 51 private
universities, more than 40 are providing Business education for same purpose.
IT Education.
Some of the schools are providing IT education like Software programming, Computer science,
Network engineering and E-commerce technology. Some are private franchise groups that do not provide
degrees but rather specific vocational skills in IT.
Quality of Trainer.
The quality of the teacher or trainer plays a significant role in the success of any educational
program. In Bangladesh most of the teachers are using traditional methods and working from old scripts
that are not up-to-date with current thinking. Students have recently begun to question the quality of
instruction and this is providing some motivation for the development of stronger teacher education
programs.
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Table 4 Opinion of the respondents towards Trainer efficiency
Variables Average Score
Clearing Thinking 2.0
Empathy 1.5
Sufficient expertise in relevant content 1.5
Humility 1.0
Resourcefulness 2.0
Knowing how to find information 2.0
Intuition 1.5
Patience, tolerance and good humor 2.5
Presentation Skills 2.0
Flexibility 1.0
Facilitation 1.0
Confidence 2.5
Ability to let go or Understanding lacking 1.0
Average 1.65
Table-4 shows the average score for each of the thirteen variables used in the survey. The aggregate score
of 1.65 indicates a moderate level of efficiency.
Placement of the Learner
After completing the courses like an MBA, Other Masters, IT education or other training
programs, where are the students finding work? In Bangladesh, there is tremendous employment crisis
and good jobs are sometimes quite impossible to secure. The private universities do better in this regard
as they are in frequent contact with large companies and frequently arrange seminars, conference,
workshop, etc. By this way they have increased access for their students. The total numbers of students
who participate in such programs are relatively few when compared with the number of students in state
universities. The state universities put more than 2500+ students into the market with a graduate or
postgraduate education. There are more than 17 state universities and sometimes the figure will exceed
the mansion figure. Out of 2500, 30-40% of the students find decent work; the rest struggle.
Degree From Sample Govt. Sector Private Sector Banking Sector MNC Others Total
Public 100 5 43 18 4 30 100
University
Private 100 3 56 19 6 16 100
University
Vocational 50 2 32 2 1 13 50
Training
Institute
Diploma 50 1 31 3 1 14 50
General 50 1 36 2 1 10 50
Training
Specialized 40 6 30 5 2 7 40
Training
[Source: Field Survey]
Table 5 shows that the opportunities for finding a job in government or a multinational after upon
graduation from one of the institutes are few. The greatest opportunities are in the private and banking. In
Bangladesh both sectors are doing well.
Based on a review of the literature and our study, the major problems of developing human resources in
Bangladesh are:
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Lack of Government Initiative. While the government says it supports human resource
development it does not provide adequate funding. There is no nation-wide research regarding the
quantity and quality of HRD programs.
Lack of infrastructure. While educational institutions may offer strong programming to develop
valuable and salable skills, they lack the facilities to deliver these programs in an efficient and effective
manner.
Lack of Quality. The quality of these institutions is very uneven. Some do not provide quality
teachers, materials or other resources needed for students to succeed. The government is casual in its
oversight of programs.
Lack of Co-ordination. Human resource development activities are not well coordinated. There
is no coordination among the primary, secondary, and tertiary education systems. The quality, syllabus
structure, teaching methodologies, styles, and facilities for the same courses or topics differ from
institution to institution.
Lack of investment. Both the government and private sector provide few resources for HRD in
Bangladesh. All the plans for HRD are handicapped by the scarcity of funds.
Lack of trained instructor. Experienced, efficient, and trained instructors or teachers are a rarity
in Bangladesh. The lack of funding makes it difficult to hire qualified instructors.
Lack of Communication. HRD programs are not evaluated in Bangladesh. Because of this there
is little communication between educators and students and little opportunity to make improvements to
the programs or course.
Improper Licensing. Government has approved so many institutions for human resource
development without any given guidelines, rules, or conditions. This lack of standards allows many
opportunities for the establishment of fraudulent programs.
Government initiatives. To develop his human resources to compete locally and globally; the
government has to take major steps to create institutions, increasing the infrastructure, and make
additional financing available.
Proper planning and coordination. Effective planning and proper coordination is for a
requirement for the development of human resources. Effective planning and coordination is equally
significant for both the private and public sectors in Bangladesh. The educational infrastructure should be
updated.
To create more institutions and training centre. Presently, the institutes for educational,
technical, professional, vocational and other specialized training institutions are too few to meet the
overall demand or need in Bangladesh. Additional institutions should be established for the sake of
human resource development.
To recruit trained instructors. Financial and other incentives should be provided to recruit and
retain well-qualified trainers and instructors
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Modern equipment & infrastructure facility. The institutes need modern equipment and facilities.
Given the rapid pace of technological development, these facilities and technologies must be monitored
frequently to keep them up-to-date.
To ensure the quality. Creating and financing such institutions or programs is not enough.
Everyone involved in HRD must work together and coordinate their efforts to ensure the ongoing quality
of education and training in Bangladesh.
Final comments
The role of institutions for developing human resources is enormous. This is true for all nations.
Bangladesh has a tremendous opportunity to develop its human resources and emerge as a leader.
Efficient HRD can provide a needed competitive advantage in the global economy. The development of
effective private and public HRD programs must be made a top priority for Bangladesh.
References
Fisher J. (1993), “TQM: A warning for higher education”, Education Record, Spring, pp. 15-19
Lorange, P., “A Business School as a Learning Organization”, The Learning Organization., Volume 3,
Number 5, 1996, pp.5-13
Michael J. Jucius, personnel Management,(Homewood, Illinois) Richard D. Irwin, INC., 1979,p.221.
Schragel. F. (1993)”Total Quality in Education”, Quality Progress, October, pp. 67-69.
Shalala. D. (1993),”TQM applications in Education”, Executive Excellence, May, pp. 6-7.
http://www.dns3.bdcom.com, Education Ministry, government Republic of Bangladesh.
http://www.govfinance.org
http://www.icmab.com
http://www.ugc.com
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