Running after the dream job
Abu Talha earned his master's in mass
communication and journalism more than a year ago, but is yet to court his dream job, despite making several attempts.
During his long academic life at the
country's one of the top universities, all his efforts were concentrated on Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS), which provides top and prestigious government jobs. He never tried to build his career in journalism.
Since completing tertiary education, the ex-Notre Damian has appeared in two BCS exams -- the 28th and 29th -- and attended viva voce on one occasion, but in vain.
"I have got good preparations, but it is not just happening," said the 27-year-old who stood 13th in his secondary exams under Rajshahi board.
There are many like Talha. There are also many who, out of depression and fear of ultimate failure, have aimed at other targets.
"Changing the aim is a practical necessity in the context of Bangladesh," said Shariful Hannan, 29, a banker at a private bank.
He said he had to distance himself from trying to get top government jobs as he found such efforts eat up much time.
"In most cases, the process for getting a government job is lengthy. As a result, like me, many of my friends have ended up in other areas," said Hannan, who completed honours and master's in English literature from Dhaka University.
Every year, around 475,000 students get enrolled at university and college levels at the country's National University-affiliated colleges, public universities, private
universities, government and private medical colleges and Open University, according to University Grants Commission (UGC).
Although the Commission does not keep any record on the number of students completing the full term, less than 10 percent of the admitted drop out, a UGC official said.
Over 29,077 students get enrolled in 29 public universities every year, according to the UGC. Over 95 percent of them complete their course, said the official.
Around 60,000 graduate from the country's 51 private universities annually, said Hurmot Shah, secretary of Private
Universities Association of Bangladesh.
In 2009, over 112,035 students graduated from around 1,632 degree and honours colleges affiliated with National University. Several thousands also completed their tertiary education from over 55 government and private medical colleges.
The number of graduates from colleges will increase in the coming years, as the number of degree colleges has already reached 1,948, said National University spokesman Faizul Karim.
Graduates in engineering, medicine, dentistry, economics, English, law and business studies will not need to spend much time for searching jobs compared to their counterparts in other subjects, says Hannan, an executive-MBA student.
He said graduates from reputed
institutions will get their desired jobs after
completing their course.
Hannan said students are increasingly facing a dilemma whether they would stick to only academic studies or try to become skilled through job-oriented studies.
"Even if you achieve good grades, you may need to spend a significant amount of time for preparing yourself for the tough job market," he said, adding that the time required may range between six months and one year and in some cases up to two to three years.
Shah of Private Universities Association also said graduates with low-grade face hard times in getting job. He, however, said most of their graduates have fared well
particularly in the private sector such as in the areas of banks, IT and telecoms.
Failing to get a desired job in the country, hundreds of thousands of students fly abroad each year soon after leaving
university, or even before.
Last year, nearly 20,000 students went abroad mainly to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Malaysia and Sweden, for study purposes, said MK Bashar, chief executive officer of BSB Global Network, a students consulting firm.
As public jobs remain hard to pin down, Talha has also sent out dozens of CV to
private sector offices.
He has attended the preliminary test of 30th BCS examination, result of which is set to delay, as a writ has been filed with the High Court over questions paper leakage.
The holdup, a regular phenomenon in the country particularly in the government jobs due to a huge participation and bureaucratic tangles, worries many like Talha.
"I will continue trying," he said, adding that the 30-year-age-limit could dent his journey towards the dream job.
Bangladesh has seen explosive growth in the number of university and college
students thanks to rising literacy rate from 16.8 percent in 1971 to over 53 percent in 2009. But there has not been a comparable rise in graduate-level jobs, although telecom, IT and banking sectors are offering a huge number of jobs.
On an average, 35,000 online users hit BdJobs.com, the country's first and leading career management site, daily, said the company.
Each year about 18 lakh people join Bangladesh's workforce and the underemployment plus unemployment rate now stands at 28.5 percent in the country of 160 million people, according to Mustafizur Rahman, executive director of Centre for Policy Dialogue, a think-tank.
The economist said the government has to emphasise non-farm, industrial and
service sectors to employ the new workers, as the agriculture sector would fail to absorb them.
He said there is a mismatch between market demand and the country's
education system. "There is high demand for people with technical and vocational knowledge. We have to address it."
"Besides, we have to finance
self-employment schemes and here comes the issue of access to finance. We have to give them easy credit," Rahman said.
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