NU makes ICT and English compulsory at honours level
National University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr ASM Amanullah has stated that there is no alternative to science education for students if they are to tackle global challenges and succeed in an increasingly competitive job market.
He made these remarks on Monday while inaugurating a workshop at Daffodil Institute of IT (DIIT), titled "Evaluating National University's ICT Curricula for Employment Opportunities and Leveraging Digital Platforms to Connect Graduates with the ICT Industry".
Professor Amanullah stated that although approximately 700,000 to 800,000 students graduate from the National University each year, most struggle to secure employment in the job market due to a lack of ICT and foreign language skills. For this reason, the university administration has made ICT and English compulsory at the honours level.
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He noted that, with support from a2i and UNICEF Bangladesh, the university is preparing a new ICT curriculum and manual. To ensure the curriculum meets the needs of both domestic and international ICT industries, the National University seeks advice from relevant industry stakeholders.
The Vice-Chancellor emphasised that affiliated colleges will teach according to the needs of the ICT sector, aiming to make graduates job-ready or entrepreneurial. Calling the National University "a people's institution", he invited ICT industry experts to collaborate with this initiative.
The workshop was organised by the National University with support from the government's a2i project, aiming to align ICT curricula to better prepare students for employment.
In the second session, Professor Md Lutfar Rahman, National University Pro-Vice Chancellor, spoke. The opening ceremony, moderated by Dr Md Haidar Ali, system analyst at the university's ICT department, also featured speeches by Salma Parveen, Director of the Teacher Training Department; Md Afzal Hossain Sarwar, Policy Analyst and Head of Education Skills at a2i; and Professor Dr Md Sakhawat Hossain, Principal of DIIT.
Resource persons included Mohammad Abdur Rafiq, Project Director at a2i; Md Rashidul Mannaf Kabir, Joint Director at a2i; Dr AHM Ruhul Kuddus, Acting Dean of the National University's Centre for Curriculum Development and Evaluation; Associate Professor Nazma Tara of Computer Science; and Birendra Nath Adhikary, CEO of ICT ISC.
The workshop brought together representatives from National University-affiliated colleges and key ICT firms.
