Consultation Workshop on TVET MIS Review and Way Forward
A consultation workshop on the findings of Management Information System (MIS) review of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system of Bangladesh was held on Wednesday, July 17 2019 at the Conference Hall of Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), at Dhaka’s Agargaon area.
The workshop was graced by Mr. Rawnak Mahmud, Additional Secretary, Technical and Madrasah Education Division and Director General, Directorate of Technical Education, as the chief guest. Dr. Syed Shahadat Hossain, Professor of Dhaka University’s Institute of Statistical Research and Training presented his findings in the workshop in presence of ILO’s Skills 21 Project’s Chief Technical Officer Mr. Snehal Soneji, DTE’s Director of Planning and Development Mr. Jahangir Alam, and DTE’s Director of Administration Mr. Manjurul Quader.
Representatives from Bangladesh Technical Education Board, BMET, National Skills Development Authority, BBS, BANBEIS, ILO and EU were present in the workshop and have contributed in the discussion from their end.
Dr. Hossain’s research found a coordination gap among the stakeholders of the TVET sector while collecting and storing information. He explained the issue through a flowchart where he particularly found that the data dissemination in this sector is mostly one-way approach instead of two-way approach, and sometimes the data is not publicly accessible that impacts the credibility of the data. He has also pointed out the problem regarding the quality of data collected by different agencies. He suggested some way forward to these problems which include better coordination among agencies, achieve improved quality, bringing all the initiatives under one umbrella.
ILO’s Skills 21 Project’s Chief Technical Officer Mr. Snehal Soneji emphasized on the use of MIS saying, “The work you cannot measure, you cannot manage. For a coherent and good governance of the TVET sector, a perfectly managed MIS is needed. Otherwise we cannot plan for our future.” He urged all the stakeholders to share their inputs from their perspective to find a process to build a bridge between them as 23 different ministries are working on TVET sector.”
Additional Secretary of Technical and Madrasah Education Division Mr. Rawnak Mahmud expressed his strong interest in implementing the recommendations from this initiative of ILO Skills 21 project.
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.