Bangladesh Gears-up to Embrace Blended Learning to Revolutionise TVET
The Commonwealth of Learning’s regional centre in Asia, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (COL-CEMCA) partnered with the Bangladesh Open University (BOU) to organise a high-profile national consultation on blended technical and vocational education and training (TVET) on 5 May 2025. The event convened 37 key stakeholders, including policymakers, educators, and institutional leaders, to discuss strategies for expanding and improving TVET to meet both national and international labour market demands.
The Keynote Address by Dr B. Shadrach, Director, COL-CEMCA, emphasised the critical role of TVET in addressing Bangladesh’s demand for a skilled workforce. With 120 million people in the working-age group, the country must expand and adopt blended TVET, combining face-to-face, online, and on-the-job learning, to support economic growth. "COL-CEMCA has introduced national and institutional blended learning policies and a widely adopted Technology-Enabled Learning policy template. Its AI in TVET course with NITTTR Chennai drew strong regional participation, especially from Bangladesh. Similarly, the Micro-credential Consultation in Malaysia engaged key stakeholders including Bangladesh’s NSDA and UGC,” Dr Shadrach informed. He also shared the details of a pilot study of Blended Learning in Electrician and Cosmetology trade skills.
Delivering the Special Address, Professor Dr M. Shamsher Ali, Founder and Professor Emeritus, BOU, underscored the urgency of embracing blended TVET to meet both domestic and international workforce needs. He stressed the importance of changing societal mind-sets to value vocational training. He called on institutions and policymakers to support blended learning for sustainable national growth and global competitiveness. He mentioned, “Unless a society is prepared to accept vocational and technical training as the order of the day, it is very difficult to get it going.”
Mr. Siddique Zobair, Senior Secretary, Secondary and Higher Education Division, Ministry of Education, Government of Bangladesh, and Member, Board of Governors, BOU, emphasised the urgent need to transform Bangladesh’s education ecosystem to harness the potential of its youth through quality TVET. He stressed that societal respect for vocational skills and stronger collaboration between government, private sector, and international partners like COL-CEMCA are essential. He specifically mentioned, “COL-CEMCA can assist us in developing the right kind of curriculum/syllabus, training centres to enhance TVET in the country.”
The Chief Guest, Professor Dr SMA Faiz, Chairman, UGC, Bangladesh, acknowledged the significance of BOU’s role in promoting TVET. With 3 million unemployed persons in Bangladesh, he stressed the urgency of skill development in areas like nursing, foreign languages, and trainer capacity building. He highlighted international opportunities with countries like Japan and Korea seeking skilled labour and underlined the need for social recognition and dignity of labour. "Open University is not just opening doors—it is opening windows of opportunity for our nation’s youth."
Professor Dr ABM Obaidul Islam, Vice Chancellor, BOU, unveiled BOU’s ambitious plans to lead the transformation. He outlined initiatives supported by the Ministry of Youth, World Bank, NSDA, and UNICEF, aiming to skill over 100,000 learners. The future plans include launching new certificate and diploma programmes, reintroducing nursing education, and forming industry linkages. He stressed the need for flexible, quality, industry-aligned education to meet evolving labour market demands. He concluded his address with the slogan, "Empower yourself. Empower Bangladesh. Invest in TVET."
The participants were welcomed by Professor (Dr) Dil Rowshan Zinnat Ara Nazneen, Pro Vice Chancellor (Academic), BOU, who emphasised the vital role of TVET in building a skilled workforce, improving livelihoods, and contributing to national development. As the day’s deliberations concluded, the consensus was clear – Bangladesh’s journey from a labour-based to a skills-driven economy begins with reinventing TVET for the digital age. It marked just the first step in what promises to be a nationwide overhaul of vocational training. As Professor Sayeed Ferdous, BOU’s Pro Vice Chancellor (Administration0, remarked in his Vote of Thanks: “This isn’t the end – it’s the beginning of Bangladesh’s skills revolution.”
