Improving skills and productivity are critical for Bangladesh to accelerate economic growth and hence, become a middle-income country. However, the current levels of skill of the existing labour force are unlikely to meet future market demands. Although there is plenty of low-skilled workers, there is a strong demand for graduates with higher cognitive and noncognitive skills, as well as demand for job-specific technical skills. This would necessitate increasing the quality and relevance of tertiary education so that educational institutions can produce graduates with more market relevant skills. Therefore, the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) intends to implement a new project called "College Education Development Project (CEDP)" through the Ministry of Education with support from the World Bank as part of its commitment to improve the quality and governance mechanisms of the college subsector as articulated in the 6th Five Year Plan (2011-2015) and the Strategic Plan for Higher Education. 

To fulfill the human development needs of the country, the CEDP was first introduced in 2016. The GoB is currently implementing the CEDP to improve the teaching and learning environment of participating colleges as well as strengthen the strategic planning and management capacity of National University (NU) affiliated tertiary colleges in Bangladesh. The project concentrates on the NU, which imparts education to roughly two-thirds of all tertiary students studying in around 2,200 government and non-government colleges.

The achievement of the CEDP is the satisfaction level of students, teachers and employers in terms of the quality and relevance of teaching. To measure the satisfaction level of the relevant stakeholder (i.e., students, teachers and employers), three beneficiary feedback surveys (i.e., baseline, mid-term and endline) were planned to be conducted among which the baseline was carried out in 2019 by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). This particular study will assess the mid-term satisfaction level of the similar beneficiaries. Satisfaction level of students and teachers, who are considered direct beneficiaries will be assessed in terms of quality of education and teaching, skills, and other relevant facilities while the satisfaction level of employers will be assessed in terms of quality of graduates. 

This survey will be carried out through a mixed method approach with quantitative and qualitative aspects. Structured questionnaires, Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) will serve the purpose of encompassing this widely used approach. 

The main objective of the mid-term satisfaction survey is to measure the levels of satisfaction of all relevant stakeholders of the sampled colleges in the midst of IDG implementation in NU affiliated Honors and Master’s colleges. The survey will focus on the following aspects:

• Understanding the academic environment, facilities, and human resources, of the NU affiliated honors and master's colleges;

• Opinions of students and teachers about existing college facilities and investments, and areas needing improvement, and opinion and satisfaction on quality of teaching and learning, including gender aspects;

• Opinion of employers on match between current skills and desired skills of graduates, and

• Impact of COVID-19 on education, safe learning environment, job market, and earnings.

Team: Dr. Badrun Nessa Ahmed (Team Leader), Dr. S. M. Zulfiqar Ali, Rizwana Islam, Md Nahid Ferdous Pabon

Duration: March 2022 to June 2022

Sponsor: College education Development Project (CEDP), Ministry of Education.