There are mainly three stages of education a person can go through in their life. Primary education is the beginning of their school life from class 1 to class 6. Secondary education starts from class 7 and goes through the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination after class 10 and finally ends with the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination after class 12 or equivalent. The third category is the tertiary education which begins with the undergraduate programs where a student chooses his or her specialization and then continues pursuing education and career in that field through post-graduate masters programs and if possible Doctoral PhD programs. Though the literacy measure of a country focuses mainly on the primary education but for the growth and development of the country tertiary education quality and opportunities are much more important. The more specialization opportunities there are in a country the more industries or markets will open up and these will boost up the economy. My career in the education sector is still at the beginning stage but through my own experience as a student, and having seen my father work as an associate professor and later the registrar of a renowned university for most of his life, I had the opportunity to deal with and observe different aspects of the tertiary education in Bangladesh.
Tertiary education is heavily dependent on the HSC examinations. What subjects were studied (science, commerce, etc.) and what was the result of HSC become the major determinants of where a particular student will begin the undergraduate education. Students celebrate HSC results in euphoria by taking smiling pictures with the famous victory sign and then followed by distribution of sweets. However, the reality is that the difficult part is about to begin. The most common trend of mindset of students as well as their parents is that if they had studied in science then they will either get into an engineering university or they will get into a medical college. And if the student is from commerce background then they will study in business and administration. They do not give any emphasis on the ability and aptitude of the student while making the crucial decision of which subject to pursue in their undergraduate studies. A lot of the times it is seen that a student gets into an engineering university or medical college almost forcefully just because it was their parents’ dreams to see them as engineers or doctors.
Engineering and Medical Science are professional degrees and require a lot of hard work and dedication. They are more analytical and less creative. Students who have the aptitude of quickly understanding the technical issues and are very accurate with applied mathematics are best suited for engineering subjects like electrical, computer, civil, mechanical etc. Two of the most famous institutions offering engineering degrees in Bangladesh are Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Islamic University of Technology (IUT). However, those who fail to get through the rigorous process of admission in these universities are not necessarily facing the end of their world. A lot of private universities like American International University of Bangladesh (AIUB) and Ahsanullah Institute of Science and Technology and also military operated Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) offer quality education in engineering. The biggest problem engineering students might face is probably the lack of job opportunities. The advancement of the telecommunication industry in Bangladesh has improved electrical and electronics engineers’ job prospects somewhat and a few international software developing companies has done the same for the computer students. But students of civil, mechanical and other specialization of engineering still face a lot of difficulty in building a steady career. These students most of the time prefer to study post-graduate degrees abroad and settle down in foreign land. This leads to brain drain. The government should look into this and urge them to stay back to help in the engineering based projects for the development of the country rather than always asking for foreign help. For that these government projects need to look very lucrative in terms of incentives so that the graduates are interested to stay back and work for their own country.
Medical Science, another very popular professional degree for science students require thorough devotion and continuous hard work. Students with a short span of attention and lack of patience should never study this subject. That is because this subject is probably the only one which requires a post-graduate degree to have a good stable career. Just an MBBS degree will never be enough in our country. Thus a student getting into any of the government owned or private medical colleges should begin with the intention of studying for another 8 years at least before getting a stable job. A lot of memorizing is required while studying in this field since it’s mostly the study of human body which has numerous organs and functions. I still believe this is the toughest subject to study but it is also the most honorable one.
From the early 90s one particular area of study has grown like mushrooms in this country and that is the study of business and administration. Now all the private universities and most of the government owned universities are offering Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) and Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degrees in this country. In the end it is the collective effort of all the businesses of the country that contribute to its economic development and prosperity. Thus we need expertise who can manage these businesses which creates huge job opportunities for BBA and MBA graduates. These are not professional degrees rather they are application based degrees. Students of these fields need to develop time management skills as well as presentation skills. Some degree of analysis using common sense is also required. Though it is assumed that BBA and MBA are for students from commerce background but science students can also study them and they can do very well in these courses as well. A lot of statistics and mathematics are also required in these degrees but focus is not on the theoretical aspects rather on the application aspect of it. Students should also be well versed with computer application use like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint, and Microsoft Excel. They should be confident, expressive and extrovert to be able to shine in the field of business and administration. BBA and MBA graduate are molded in such a way so they can adapt in any sort of businesses and are considered as jack of all trades. Some of the quality universities offering these degrees are Institute of Business Administration (IBA), North South University (NSU), Khulna University (KU), Dhaka University (DU), East West University (EWU), American International University of Bangladesh (AIUB), Independent University of Bangladesh (IUB), BRAC University (BU), and United International University (UIU)
Apart from these three areas of study there are also opportunities for students to study other variety of subjects. Studying law requires confidence, extrovert attitude along with high command of literary knowledge in both English and Bangla. Architecture is another field that requires students with skills of hand drawing, or using graphics designing software and accuracy in measurements. Economics nowadays have become more of a mathematical subject than a social science subject. Whereas creativity is required for language studies and arts related subjects like history, international relations, political science, fine arts etc. However job opportunities in the arts field are very scarce.
Choosing which subject or field to study in the tertiary education is a very crucial decision any person has to go through especially in a country like Bangladesh where there are minimum opportunities and huge competition. One set of skills that all students must have regardless of which subject they choose to study is the English language skills both written and spoken, and also basic mathematical skills. I believe if someone has the necessary aptitude and interest in a specific field he or she will definitely do well in it and eventually in their career. So rather than deciding based on social and peer pressure everyone should choose their tertiary education subject based on what skills they posses. Along with that the government should take necessary steps to ensure that all the fields have enough career opportunities in the country.
Tertiary education is heavily dependent on the HSC examinations. What subjects were studied (science, commerce, etc.) and what was the result of HSC become the major determinants of where a particular student will begin the undergraduate education. Students celebrate HSC results in euphoria by taking smiling pictures with the famous victory sign and then followed by distribution of sweets. However, the reality is that the difficult part is about to begin. The most common trend of mindset of students as well as their parents is that if they had studied in science then they will either get into an engineering university or they will get into a medical college. And if the student is from commerce background then they will study in business and administration. They do not give any emphasis on the ability and aptitude of the student while making the crucial decision of which subject to pursue in their undergraduate studies. A lot of the times it is seen that a student gets into an engineering university or medical college almost forcefully just because it was their parents’ dreams to see them as engineers or doctors.
Engineering and Medical Science are professional degrees and require a lot of hard work and dedication. They are more analytical and less creative. Students who have the aptitude of quickly understanding the technical issues and are very accurate with applied mathematics are best suited for engineering subjects like electrical, computer, civil, mechanical etc. Two of the most famous institutions offering engineering degrees in Bangladesh are Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and Islamic University of Technology (IUT). However, those who fail to get through the rigorous process of admission in these universities are not necessarily facing the end of their world. A lot of private universities like American International University of Bangladesh (AIUB) and Ahsanullah Institute of Science and Technology and also military operated Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) offer quality education in engineering. The biggest problem engineering students might face is probably the lack of job opportunities. The advancement of the telecommunication industry in Bangladesh has improved electrical and electronics engineers’ job prospects somewhat and a few international software developing companies has done the same for the computer students. But students of civil, mechanical and other specialization of engineering still face a lot of difficulty in building a steady career. These students most of the time prefer to study post-graduate degrees abroad and settle down in foreign land. This leads to brain drain. The government should look into this and urge them to stay back to help in the engineering based projects for the development of the country rather than always asking for foreign help. For that these government projects need to look very lucrative in terms of incentives so that the graduates are interested to stay back and work for their own country.
Medical Science, another very popular professional degree for science students require thorough devotion and continuous hard work. Students with a short span of attention and lack of patience should never study this subject. That is because this subject is probably the only one which requires a post-graduate degree to have a good stable career. Just an MBBS degree will never be enough in our country. Thus a student getting into any of the government owned or private medical colleges should begin with the intention of studying for another 8 years at least before getting a stable job. A lot of memorizing is required while studying in this field since it’s mostly the study of human body which has numerous organs and functions. I still believe this is the toughest subject to study but it is also the most honorable one.
From the early 90s one particular area of study has grown like mushrooms in this country and that is the study of business and administration. Now all the private universities and most of the government owned universities are offering Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) and Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degrees in this country. In the end it is the collective effort of all the businesses of the country that contribute to its economic development and prosperity. Thus we need expertise who can manage these businesses which creates huge job opportunities for BBA and MBA graduates. These are not professional degrees rather they are application based degrees. Students of these fields need to develop time management skills as well as presentation skills. Some degree of analysis using common sense is also required. Though it is assumed that BBA and MBA are for students from commerce background but science students can also study them and they can do very well in these courses as well. A lot of statistics and mathematics are also required in these degrees but focus is not on the theoretical aspects rather on the application aspect of it. Students should also be well versed with computer application use like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint, and Microsoft Excel. They should be confident, expressive and extrovert to be able to shine in the field of business and administration. BBA and MBA graduate are molded in such a way so they can adapt in any sort of businesses and are considered as jack of all trades. Some of the quality universities offering these degrees are Institute of Business Administration (IBA), North South University (NSU), Khulna University (KU), Dhaka University (DU), East West University (EWU), American International University of Bangladesh (AIUB), Independent University of Bangladesh (IUB), BRAC University (BU), and United International University (UIU)
Apart from these three areas of study there are also opportunities for students to study other variety of subjects. Studying law requires confidence, extrovert attitude along with high command of literary knowledge in both English and Bangla. Architecture is another field that requires students with skills of hand drawing, or using graphics designing software and accuracy in measurements. Economics nowadays have become more of a mathematical subject than a social science subject. Whereas creativity is required for language studies and arts related subjects like history, international relations, political science, fine arts etc. However job opportunities in the arts field are very scarce.
Choosing which subject or field to study in the tertiary education is a very crucial decision any person has to go through especially in a country like Bangladesh where there are minimum opportunities and huge competition. One set of skills that all students must have regardless of which subject they choose to study is the English language skills both written and spoken, and also basic mathematical skills. I believe if someone has the necessary aptitude and interest in a specific field he or she will definitely do well in it and eventually in their career. So rather than deciding based on social and peer pressure everyone should choose their tertiary education subject based on what skills they posses. Along with that the government should take necessary steps to ensure that all the fields have enough career opportunities in the country.