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 labor 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 non-cognitive skills, as well as a 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 College Education Development Project (CEDP) was incepted 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.