Prime Minister’s Education and Primary and Mass Education Adviser Mahdi Amin on Wednesday said education should be a key driver in strengthening people-to-people ties between Bangladesh and China.
Speaking at a meeting on Bangladesh-China education cooperation in Guangzhou, he called for more scholarships, joint research, academic exchanges and stronger cooperation in technical and vocational education between the two countries.
Mahdi said many Chinese universities now rank highly globally and are leading in scientific research, adding that Bangladesh wants to learn from their best practices and advanced research culture, according to a press release.
He said Bangladesh is keen to expand scholarship opportunities for talented Bangladeshi students at renowned Chinese universities and undertake joint research projects to improve access to modern laboratories and international academic resources.
The meeting focused on four key areas — study opportunities for Bangladeshi students in China, cooperation between universities, joint research, and technical education and skills development.
Mahdi said Bangladesh’s large working-age population is one of its greatest economic strengths, but the country’s education system has remained overly dependent on theoretical learning for many years.
He said the government is working to make education more practical and employment-oriented and plans to give greater priority to technical and vocational education.
The adviser also said the government is moving to make third-language learning compulsory to help young people compete globally, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman giving priority to Mandarin.
He stressed the need for stronger industry-academia collaboration and modern employment exchanges to better connect education with the job market.
Mahdi called for regular exchanges of teachers, researchers and students between Bangladesh and China, saying such programs could create more opportunities for Bangladeshi students to pursue higher education in China while allowing Chinese students to visit Bangladesh through exchange programs and summer schools.
