National University Vice Chancellor Prof.Dr.A.S.M Amanullah said about one million graduate each year:40% find jobs,20%are self-employed, and 40% remain unemployed.He disclosed this information on Saturday (August 16) at a seminar titled “Demand-Based Education in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects”, organized by the Education Reform Initiative (ERI).

The seminar was presided over by ERI Chairman and former State Minister for Education, A. N. M. Ehsanul Haque Milan, while the keynote paper was presented by Jahangirnagar University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan.

Professor Amanullah said that despite the presence of laboratories, demonstrators, teachers, and principals in educational institutions, practical lab work is not being conducted. He termed this as a sign of moral decline, stressing the need for urgent reforms.

He further stated that Bangladesh must discourage the export of unskilled labor and instead focus on developing a skilled workforce. He also recommended that the National University’s “Best Teacher Award” should be given to truly deserving candidates rather than those with personal connections.

The Vice-Chancellor emphasized the importance of forming a modern education commission, adding that Bangladesh has seen no significant qualitative improvement in education over the past 52 years. “We have also failed to establish a single world-class university,” he remarked.

Citing examples of Singapore and Malaysia, he said these countries once had conditions similar to Bangladesh, but their per capita income has multiplied, thanks in large part to demand-based education. To prepare students for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the National University has already begun revising its curriculum, he added.

At the same event, it was noted that degree pass students constitute 11 percent of the country’s total student population, of which nearly half—about 4.5 percent—are unemployed.

Presenting his keynote paper, Jahangirnagar University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan identified the lack of quality education as the greatest challenge. “Every year, 250,000 students secure GPA-5 in the SSC examinations, yet real educational development remains stagnant. Around one million students sit for the SSC exam, but where do those who fail to achieve GPA-5 go?” he asked.

The paper further highlighted that 11 percent of students are in degree pass courses, with 4.5 percent of them unemployed. Therefore, the next generation must be educated according to the demands of the job market.

Dr. Ahsan also pointed out that while Bangladeshi engineers contributed to projects like the Padma Bridge, Metro Rail, and the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the core responsibilities were handled by engineers from China, Russia, and Japan. “Despite graduating from the country’s top institutions, local engineers are not entrusted with major roles due to a lack of demand-based education,” he said.