Bobby Hajjaj urges stress on language and technical skills for trillion-dollar economy goal

Photo: Collected

State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj believes that building skilled human resources requires the integrated development of both language proficiency and technical knowledge. He stressed the matter on Saturday while speaking as the chief guest at the prize-giving ceremony of the fourth International Language League competition at North South University.

According to the state minister, it would be a mistake to think of language as merely a medium of communication; it is also an important tool for acquiring skills, exchanging knowledge and achieving social and economic progress. He said that to achieve the goal of turning Bangladesh into a trillion-dollar economy by 2034, skills development must be given the highest priority.

Bobby Hajjaj said that, besides giving people the ability to express themselves, language also widens their standing in society and the scope of their potential. How clearly a person can speak and how effectively they can present their thoughts before others plays an important role in education, working life and professional advancement. For that reason, language education must not be confined to good results in examinations alone; it has to be developed as a means of communication and skills acquisition in real life.

Citing China’s experience, he said that enriching scientific and academic terminology in a country’s own language, and creating opportunities to pursue knowledge in that very language, plays an important role in developing a country’s skills and capabilities. Bangladesh too must expand the pursuit of knowledge in science and technology in the mother tongue, and at the same time must increase proficiency in international languages. That would make it possible to further raise Bangladesh’s capacity in knowledge exchange, international communication and global trade.

The state minister said building skilled human resources is indispensable to realising the aspiration of taking Bangladesh’s economy to the trillion-dollar level by 2034. For that, alongside technical knowledge and communication skills, opportunities to gain proficiency in internationally important languages, including English and Chinese, need to be expanded. He called for young people’s success in language learning to be used as the foundation for broader skills development. The state minister also requested the country’s universities to play a more active role in this regard.

North South University Vice-Chancellor Professor Abdul Hannan Chowdhury presided over the event. The special guests were Benajir Ahmed, a member of the university’s Board of Trustees, and the Cultural Counsellor of the Chinese embassy in Bangladesh. Teachers and students of various educational institutions and others concerned were also present there.