The Technical Education Board is preparing to reinstate admission tests for government polytechnic institutes, eight years after the Awami League government abolished them in 2016 in favor of a GPA-based admission system.
According to sources within the Technical Education Board, students will be required to sit for an admission test starting from the upcoming academic year. The board held multiple discussions on this issue in December and has now completed all necessary preparations. The final implementation is pending approval from the Ministry of Education, and once approved, the admission test system will be reintroduced from the 2025-26 academic year.
However, the decision is not yet final, according to Technical Education Board Chairman Engineer Md. Rakib Ullah. He stated, “We are making efforts. Once we receive approval from the Ministry of Education, we can proceed with the plan. Our aim is to introduce an admission test for students starting from the next semester.”
The chairman further emphasized the need for restructuring technical education in Bangladesh. “Despite the increasing demand for technical education, we lack the necessary skilled workforce. Over the past decade and a half, political influence from various MPs and ministers has led to the decline of technical education. This initiative is part of our efforts to revamp the sector,” he added.
Officials from the Technical Education Board have also noted that the removal of admission tests has led to a decline in student quality, affecting the overall standard of polytechnic education. They argue that the GPA-based system has deprived many deserving students of admission opportunities.
Currently, Bangladesh has 50 government polytechnic institutes, including 20 fully state-owned institutions, five newly revenue-funded institutes, five monotechnic institutes, 18 project-based institutes, and four women’s polytechnic institutes. Additionally, the country has 64 technical schools and colleges.
