One of the urgent issues that Bangladesh faces currently is that of the skill gap, and the Dhaka Tribune has editorialized frequently on the need to address this problem by implementing widespread educational reform which would adequately train the burgeoning number of young people who enter the job market every year.
In this regard, the set-up of technical colleges across the nation has gone a long way towards shortening this gap -- but this might not be enough.
As the PM has rightfully said at a recent e-conference celebrating 100 years of Dhaka University, in order for Bangladesh to cope with the challenges and demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we will need our youth to be imbued with the right set of skills, and the right level of competence as well.
Without a skilled workforce -- by some estimates, around 90% of the 2 million fresh graduates who enter the job market every year lack the necessary skillset -- the rest of the world will inevitably leave us behind.
This will require educational institutions to rethink their approach to not only what is being taught to our future generation of young and enthusiastic youth, but also how they are being taught as well.
A Digital Bangladesh will require an equally digitally conscious and literate workforce -- one that can take advantage of the new technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which have already begun to change the economic landscape, no doubt to a great extent catalyzed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In this regard, the government and private and public universities must adapt to the changing economic climate and adopt methods of education which truly enrich our youth with the skills they need.