Essay on the competency-based curriculum in Bangladesh
The essay on competency-based curriculum is an article on the reality and planning of the government. The government has planned to create a competent workforce through a competency-based curriculum. This is a good initiative. Without elaborating much the writer has written the essay on the competency-based curriculum in short.
In this essay on competency-based curriculum, a special focus has been given to teaching and learning English.
Introduction
Bangladesh is a country with a fast-growing economy. Bangladesh has so many export-oriented industries now in the private sector. These industries keep running very well in exchange for the sweat and labor of thousands of skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled hard-working people.
But the concern is there is not enough skilled manpower in Bangladesh. Millions of educated young people are unemployed. However, they do not have the required skills to work as the leaders of those companies. As a result, the company owners hire expert people to work in managerial and technical positions from abroad.
This situation has arisen because the existing education curriculum cannot produce the required skilled manpower for the current domestic demand.
Moreover, a huge number of people go abroad in search of jobs every single year. Most of them are not good at English and technology. As they lack communication and technical skills, they do not find a good job. They also do not get a good salary. Even they fail to communicate with people of other languages and their employers properly.
For the last couple of years, there has been a trend to go abroad for higher study among Bangladeshi students. The first requirement for admission to a foreign university is getting good scores in IELTS, TOEFL, etc. To do well in these international tests proficiency in the English language is a must. However, most of the students fail to fulfill their dreams because they are not good enough in English.
Competency-based curriculum
Bangladesh government has declared to introduce a competency-based curriculum in the year 2025. It is assumed that to meet the demand of skilled manpower in the domestic market this curriculum will be effective. Besides, this curriculum will help the students to be competent to work and study abroad.
The curriculum will focus on four significant components to make an internationally competent nation. The components of competence are a. Perspective b. Values c. Skills d. Knowledge. Comprehensive development and practice of all these four components will ensure making a smart nation, a competent workforce, and a welfare society.
A shortage of skilled manpower has created a reliance on foreign manpower in Bangladesh. The government has planned to overcome the situation through a competency-based curriculum. The sectors where foreign experts work are mainly garments, telecommunication, and IT. To work in these sectors technical and communication skills are a must.
Teaching English in the light of the competency-based curriculum
Every year thousands of students graduate from different public and private universities. Some of them have very good skills in English and technology. But most of the graduates are not good at English. As a result, the general background students cannot develop their skills in technology through self-study or self-practice.
English language proficiency can help a person to be familiar with new technology as the articles on technology on the internet are in English. The quality video tutorials on YouTube are also in English. And the ultimate result is unemployment. Because employers want to employ people who have good English and computer skills. They also face challenges to be an entrepreneur. Even if you want to be a freelancer, skills in computer and English are a must. Because of the internet, a person who is good at English can earn money by writing for others. Writing jobs are available in the national and international marketplace.
At the school level of Bangladesh Bangla is the medium of instruction for teaching. Even in English class most of the teachers use Bangla as the medium of instruction and this is the reality. The state of learning and teaching English is miserable in Bangladesh. There are so many reasons behind this situation. In our present English curriculum, four language skills listening, speaking, reading, and writing are supposed to be practiced. But in the public exams, there are no marks for listening and speaking. As a result, both the teachers and students are not willing to emphasize spending time and giving effort to practice listening and speaking. So, the students fall behind in acquiring two important language skills to face the challenges of real life. There should be a language club in every school for the students to practice English.
To survive in the competitive world we should develop competence. Because the system of the world always prioritizes competent people. By adopting the competency-based curriculum Bangladesh is trying to keep pace with the world. To compete with the world, we must have a competent workforce. And only proper education can do this.
Conclusion
The competency-based curriculum should focus on the development of listening and speaking skills. Because English is not a content-based but rather a skill-based subject. We know in IELTS the four skills are tested. So, to develop the skills of the English language there should be a comprehensive action plan. Equal emphasis should be given to all four skills. And if possible, more emphasis should be given to speaking and listening. The people who are good in English can easily develop their knowledge and skill in technology. Because the quality video tutorials and blogs on the internet on technology are in English. So, the competency-based curriculum must prioritize the teaching and learning of the English language.
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