No admissions for three years at 26 institutions, technical board asks why approval should not be cancelled
Twenty-six institutions running the HSC (BMT) curriculum under the Bangladesh Technical Education Board have not admitted a single student for three consecutive years. With admissions completely stopped, the education board has now taken a strict stance against these institutions.
The board has issued reminder letters to the 26 institutions. In those letters, it has asked why their approval should not be cancelled. In other words, the institutions must now explain in writing why they could not, or did not, admit students for three years.
The HSC (BMT) is a business management and technology-based curriculum at the higher secondary level, run under the Technical Education Board. Various private institutions admit students and conduct classes under this curriculum.
But if no student has been admitted to an institution for three straight years, it effectively means no educational activity is taking place there. When an approval is kept alive year after year while classrooms remain empty, the justification for that approval naturally comes into question.
The board's move is being seen as an effort to identify institutions that exist only in name and are inactive. If such institutions retain their approval, questions remain over the quality of the entire technical education system.
What happens next now depends on the replies of the institutions that received the letters. If the replies are unsatisfactory, or if no reply arrives within the stipulated time, the process of cancelling the approvals of the institutions concerned may begin.
On the other hand, if an institution can show a logical reason — such as a student shortage or a special local situation — the board may take those matters into consideration before deciding. Even so, explaining three years without admissions will not be easy for any institution.
The government has repeatedly spoken of making technical education modern and employment-oriented. Against that backdrop, keeping active and quality institutions running while filtering out inactive ones is considered essential to restoring discipline in this sector.
The episode also sends a message about the future approval and supervision of technical education institutions. Approval is not permanent; if regular admissions and teaching do not continue, approval can be cancelled — and the board's letters make that position clear.
It remains to be seen what replies the 26 institutions give to the board and how many approvals are ultimately cancelled. Once the board's final decision comes, the future picture of institutions under this curriculum will become clearer.
