Introduction to the session:
The curriculum of the agricultural universities of the country is not up to date. Agricultural University graduates have no substitute for production knowledge as well as marketing, supply chain, management, communication and leadership skills, and technical knowledge. There is a need to open a wing in the ministry to create agri-entrepreneurs and to fund young entrepreneurs by setting up incubation centers in agricultural universities. Therefore, the curriculum of agricultural universities needs to be updated, said the Minister of Agriculture. Md. Abdur Razzak.
Chief Guest: Minister of Agriculture. Md. Abdur Razzak.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a webinar titled ‘Role of Modern Curriculum in Creating Skilled Agricultural Graduates’ organized by Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University from Government House here yesterday. Vice-Chancellor of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Professor Kamal Uddin Ahmed, former Governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr. Sattar Mandal presided over the function. Atiur Rahman, Agriculture and Media Personality Sheikh Siraj spoke.
Main discussion:
Professor Lutful Hasan, Vice-Chancellor of Bangladesh Agricultural University, said, “New subjects are being added to the syllabus all the time, but there are some weaknesses. Over time, that is likely to change. The agriculture minister said the biggest challenge in agriculture is to provide safe and nutritious food for all. Agriculture and food security are already under threat due to global warming and climate change. With this, Covid-19 has become a blow to the head. As a result, the global food system or food chain is going through an extreme crisis. To meet these challenges, skilled and trained agricultural graduates need to be created. It is possible only through up-to-date, modern, and practical curriculum. In order to make agriculture more profitable, marketing and processing of agricultural products should be increased. We need to build a sustainable marketing system for agricultural products at home and abroad through the commercialization of agriculture. Need to add value by processing. The syllabus and curriculum of the agricultural universities of the country need to be updated in line with the universities of the developed world. The time has come to formulate a syllabus with knowledge of commercial agricultural techniques.
Agriculture Secretary. Nasiruzzaman:
Agriculture Secretary. Nasiruzzaman said the history of agriculture and rural power structures need to be brought into the curriculum. In order to develop agriculture, it is important to know about its evolution. Along with this, how farmers and agricultural graduates will successfully address the risks of climate change also needs to be included in the syllabus. Former education secretary NI Khan said not only the curriculum needs to be changed, but also higher training needs to be provided for teachers. The rules for the recruitment of teachers need to be changed. Because the teachers teach the students according to the curriculum. Since graduates work with farmers, it is necessary to include social science courses in the syllabus.
Former Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Atiur Rahman:
Former Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Atiur Rahman said that importance should be given on how agriculture can be made safe and environmentally sustainable. The curriculum should focus on practical education, especially internships. Graduates need to be more involved in internships with farmers and industrial establishments.
Others Speaker:
The speakers further said that agriculture is rapidly moving towards commercialization. If skilled and trained manpower cannot be involved in these places, they will fall into the hands of foreign experts. How to add value by converting agricultural products into different products has not been developed in this country. We have to consider how to do that. The speakers emphasized the inclusion of courses on marketing, industrialization, supply chain, communication and leadership skills, agricultural processing, risk management, and information technology knowledge in the curriculum to enhance the commercialization knowledge of agricultural graduates to make agriculture sustainable. The whole webinar conducted by Agamir Banglaadesh organization and Live telecast through their Facebook page.
Reference: https://bonikbarta.net
