The policies and practices of Technical and Vocational Education and Training pathways into higher education in Bangladesh

• In Event: Poster Group 6
  In Poster Session: The policies and practices of Technical and Vocational Education and Training pathways into higher education in Bangladesh

Proposal

Over the last few decades, participation in HE has rapidly grown worldwide. Many would associate HE with the economic development of the nation, one of the driving factors of world trade and urbanization/modernization, but the importance of HE is more complex (Marginson, 2018). Focusing on enhancing the TVET program has been one of the factors contributing to Bangladesh's reputation as one of the world's fastest-growing economies (Haolader et al., 2017). However, The TVET programs still have many flaws and need to be completely established. The government is still attempting to overcome the system's difficulties and build a functional TVET system. Haolader et al. (2017) argued that TVET programs in Bangladesh provide training and certification for the skills developed based on these programs. However, they are not urged to pursue HE, particularly in practice. Most students in the TVET system are influenced to enter the labor market as soon as feasible because they come from stable and disadvantaged households (Alam & Forhad, 2021). TVET students are often exploited due to their social class and lack equal opportunities to access HE. Also, most universities in Bangladesh do not accept TVET diplomas and deny students access to register in HE programs. This lack of access is increasing inequality in Bangladeshi society more and more (Ahmed, 2022). As of now, certain research (Alam & Forhad, 2021; Haolader et al., 2017; Maleque et al., 2018; Maleque as al., 2022; Naziz, 2019) have concentrated on various facets like the effectiveness of the TVET program, its curriculum, and the mechanism for collaboration with the labor market of TVET programs as well as the structural issues. This article, however, focuses on the institutional policies used by HE institutions to enable access to HE for TVET graduates. By looking into Bangladesh's educational policies and practices, this article seeks to examine the transition from TVET to HE. To identify the issues and develop solutions appropriate for the Bangladeshi context and available resources, this article also attempts to understand international best practices, e.g., Australian pathways systems.
Based on Marginson's 'high participation systems' theory focuses on access to higher education from the TVET courses in Bangladesh. The qualitative content analysis of policy documents and media reports served as the foundation for this paper. It describes how TVET courses can lead to higher education and how universities can facilitate TVET diploma holders' access to bachelor's degrees in their fields of study. This paper aims to advance our understanding of how structural obstacles (elitism) affect pathways from TVET to HE and how international 'best practices' can be localized in Bangladeshi contexts based on equity and equality practices that can support TVET graduates' participation in HE in Bangladesh.

Authors

• Sabrina Ahmed, The University of Iowa

• Ariful Kabir, University of Dhaka