Programme Outline Netherlands Initiative for Capacity Development in Higher Education (NICHE) in Bangladesh Introduction This document describes the purpose and implementation modalities of the NICHE programme in Bangladesh. It is based on consultations with different stakeholders to identify and analyse priority capacity needs in Post Secondary Higher Education. This has resulted in a selection of focal intervention areas, formulation of programme objectives and indications of their expected outcomes. The Programme Outline serves as an Agreement between the Netherlands Government and the authorities in Bangladesh and is meant to make explicit the expectations of both parties regarding the implementation of the NICHE programme.. On behalf of the Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, the Economic Relations Division (ERD) of the Ministry of Finance endorses the Programme Outline; the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) endorses the Programme Outline on behalf of the Government of the Netherlands. The Netherlands Organization for International Cooperation in Higher Education (Nuffic) administers the programme and its financial resources on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is responsible for implementation and monitoring of the Programme Outline. NICHE/Bangladesh will be implemented during the period 2010-2014 and a maximum amount of 11 million Euros is earmarked. The NICHE programme NICHE aims to strengthen post-secondary higher education and training capacity in developing countries through technical support. The programme focuses on those sectors, disciplines and thematic areas that are linked with the Netherlands bilateral cooperation portfolio. However, NICHE is not part of the delegated ODA budget of the EKN to Bangladesh. NICHE pays special attention to the gender dimension of capacity building in post-secondary higher education and training, to women s advancement and to the link between capacity development and the needs of the labour market at all levels of the programme. 1 Expertise of Dutch organizations combined with local or regional expertise will be utilized to assist Bangladeshi organizations. Support can be given to education and training units or divisions of a 1 An important stimulus of poverty alleviation is the reduction of gender disparities. NICHE wants to make a significant contribution by addressing, through capacity building, the gendered needs of women in order to promote their active participation in the development process of the country. NICHE Programme Outline Format 1
variety of organizations such as Universities and Polytechnics, specialized training institutes attached to Ministries, National Commissions or other public private agencies, training sections of non governmental organizations, private sector organizations etc. The NICHE program will issue grant awards to the Dutch institutions selected for providing the required technical expertise. The identification process The first country visit took place in May 2009 by the Nuffic Programme Officer for Bangladesh. During the mission, meetings were held with the sector specialists at the EKN, representatives of various ministries and local experts. A second mission took place in November 2009. Themes for projects were identified. The EKN in Dhaka, ERD and the following line ministries were consulted: Ministry of Establishment, Ministry of Water and Ministry of Education. Two additional consecutive missions were conducted in April and June 2010 to study key sector challenges, and jointly with the EKN in Dhaka and other national stakeholders to identify a number of issues to be addressed by NICHE in the future. The results and findings of these missions have been incorporated in the present Programme Outline. Current situation and problem analysis Education is a fundamental human right and also a social capital. The Government of Bangladesh (GoB) places highest emphasis on the education sector adopting it as one of the core strategies for poverty alleviation and development. With this end in view, the GoB adopted the National Education Policy 2010 with 24 targets, as a step towards introducing a modern-employment-oriented education system. The GoB has given top priority to education in terms of allocation of financial resources. The share of the annual budget for education has increased over the last years. The percentage of GDP spent on education, however, is still very low (2.7%). Additionally, the GoB intends to enhance opportunities for basic research in applied science and technology. It intends to ensure the proper management of public and private universities. It has reintroduced the Bangabandhu Fellowship Award for encouraging PhD level research to produce specialized and competent scientists, technologists, academicians in various fields of science and technology. To this end, Bangladesh requires a professional workforce adapted to the labour market and with new sets of competencies and skills. Institutions are still supply oriented. They do not sufficiently offer training responding to enterprise or society demand. Bangladesh choice to more closely orient its higher education to societal demand requires profound changes in the area of governance, quality, quantity and effectiveness of its higher education system. It is broadly agreed, that ensuring optimum use of water resources is essential for the development of Bangladesh growing economy and the new challenges the country is facing, like the consequences of climate change and food security. In line with the commitments of the Awami League Manifesto, the GoB has undertaken initiatives for implementation of a number of large projects for the development of integrated water resources and land use management namely, river dredging, flood control, protection against salinity, reclamation of land from sea, water proof safety, NICHE Programme Outline Format 2
and food security. Driven by the uncertainty surrounding climate change and considering the need to mitigate the effects of disasters and natural calamities due to climate change and to rehabilitate dislocated people, the GoB intends to work persistently to reduce the adverse effects, increase resilience and be prepared via adaptation. An important priority of the GoB is to establish a modern, efficient, corruption-free and a free information country, with a service-oriented public administration to implement the charter for change. Reform interventions are underway in certain areas and initiatives are being taken to reform rules of promotion, policies for appointments, career planning, among others. For example, Performance Based Evaluation System has been introduced in the Ministry of Establishment on pilot-basis. The draft Civil Service Act has been prepared, facilitated by UNDP Bangladesh, and it is in the process of finalization by holding discussions, workshops and exchange of views with different stakeholders. Updating and revising the National Training Policy are also taking place to enhance the scope of higher training of public officials that will upgrade the civil service and that will develop civil servants with professional excellence and with the capacity to provide good governance in the nation. Additionally, the freedom of the media as well as free flow of information, accountability and transparency are priorities set by the GoB. The NICHE programme will contribute to meeting these demands, and thereby contribute to the broadening of the cooperation agenda between the Netherlands and Bangladesh. In that context, the programme will have strong linkages with the Multi Annual Strategic Plan 2010-2011 of the Netherlands Embassy. The NICHE projects in the water sector will complement the long-term strategic framework for cooperation between Bangladesh and the Netherlands through the Water Mondiaal programme. Through Water Mondiaal programme the bilateral relations in the water sector between the two countries will be intensified and broadened between governments, knowledge institutes and private sector. Under Water Mondiaal three themes have been proposed: water and food security/ ecosystems, water and security and water supply and sanitation; good governance and climate change have been defined as cross cutting issues. By the end of 2010 activities of cooperation will have been defined. One of the objectives of Water Mondiaal is capacity building and therefore Water Mondiaal and NICHE will cooperate intensively as to ensure a maximum effectiveness of capacity building for the water sector. Since professional higher education and vocational training account for a considerable portion of the labour market demand, NICHE will focus not only on research education institutions but also on training institutes within Ministries, within key stakeholder s organizations within the sectors, NGOs, and other post secondary education institutions. Dutch higher education institutions which include research universities, universities of applied sciences, other specialised post secondary professional training institutions and consultants will be invited to provide the assistance required within the NICHE programme. Focus of the NICHE programme The NICHE programme will focus on the following support areas: NICHE Programme Outline Format 3
Improvement of the quality of post secondary education focusing on developing curricula, quality assurance, teaching methodologies, education materials which include e-learning and setting up e- libraries. Transfer of specialized knowledge and expertise from the Netherlands in specific disciplines. Delivering capacity building geared to the requirements of the labour market in selected disciplines so that the institutes are delivering graduates with knowledge and skills that the labour market needs in the selected disciplines. The programme is to be in line with the GoB priorities. NICHE projects are supposed to be complimentary to other donor s programmes. NICHE is explicitly linked to other bilateral agreements between Bangladesh and the Netherland, of which Water Mondiaal is a good example. Themes Based on the GoB priorities as described above and the results of the identification process, the following themes have been selected as the focal areas of the NICHE programme: A. Integrated water resources and land use management/climate Change and Water Governance The need for continued support to the water sector is of vital importance for the development of Bangladesh and in particular in relation to the rural (extreme) poor families. Enabling sustainable life in its delta, especially under the uncertainty of changing climate, requires a deep understanding and control of the physical, ecological, morphological and social-economic dynamics and processes that characterise intensive use and protection of land in interaction with sea, rivers and atmosphere. This, in turn, creates the need for intensive future-oriented interaction between disciplines. The Netherlands is a delta country like Bangladesh that, though much smaller, has been facing similar challenges of developing local capacity for integrated and participatory water management. That enabled the Netherlands to acquire an extensive knowledge base in water management. Within the international chapter of the National Water Plan of the GoN, also known as the Water Mondiaal programme, the intention of sharing this knowledge with similar countries is stipulated. Hence, many Dutch Technical Universities, Polytechnics and specialized institutes have been and still are active in Bangladesh as from 1975 onwards with numerous programmes and projects. The NICHE programme will contribute to strengthen the Water sector in Bangladesh, i.e.: In a first phase (2010-2011): NICHE will support a mapping study that will provide information on higher education organizations in the water sector, such as Polytechnics and Universities with education and training programmes relevant to Integrated Water Resources and Land Use Management, including spatial and land use planning, e.g. for agriculture. NICHE will support the identified Universities in the development of education programs on Diploma, Bachelor and MSc level relevant to water and land use management. The universities will have a set of relevant and strong competencies in order to play a key role in the future development of the water sector. NICHE Programme Outline Format 4
In a second phase (2012-2014): Initiatives of new partners and partnerships established under the Water Mondiaal platform will be considered; As a follow-up of the mapping study, initiatives will be taken for supporting Polytechnics NICHE could complement ongoing projects and initiatives in order to consolidate knowledge and best practices of water management projects of various development partners. B. Good governance The Public Administration Training and Education setting, in Bangladesh is characterised by a number of donor interventions. Education and training institutions in the sector aspire a systematic linkage to the civil service sector in general and to the Ministry of Establishment in particular. A system has to be developed in which capacity development takes place on a regular basis and in which education and training programmes are systematically adjusted to the needs of civil servants. The NICHE programme will contribute to strengthen the good governance in Bangladesh, i.e In a first phase (2010-2011): NICHE will support education and training providers in the civil service sector in order to intensify their interaction with the CPT department of the Ministry of Establishment. Likewise, the training institutes will be strengthened in updating their curricula on the civil servants training needs. The NICHE programme will facilitate a sectoral mapping study on previous initiatives, training packages based on inputs from the GoB, civil society and other donors. At the same time, the process of finalization of the Civil Service Act takes place. The study will take stock of new partnerships as well as of the new training and learning environments. Scenarios will set out how new NICHE projects should be developed in a second phase to respond to the GoB needs to build a modern, effective, accountable, responsive civil service. NICHE will support the capacity effort of media professionals to be skilled in new analytical techniques and empower the public through access to relevant information and to the freedom of information. In a second phase (2012-2014): In the context of the finalization of the Civil Service Act, facilitated by the UNDP Bangladesh, NICHE could support training and learning needs among new partners and partnerships. Gender GoB acknowledges that equal opportunities and rights for men and women are essential to face the challenges of the 21st century. Therefore, the GoB continues its effort according to its election pledge to establish a progressive society on the basis of equality. It is worth to note that in South NICHE Programme Outline Format 5
Asia except Sri Lanka, only Bangladesh has been quite successful in achieving equality in the ratio of male and female students at primary and secondary level education. Next to a female Prime Minister, the current government boasts 4 female ministers, the highest ever reached in the country. Moreover they hold ministries that have never before been held by women. Bangladesh also has, in addition to the Prime Minister, a female Minister of agriculture, of home affairs and of foreign affairs. The GoB aims to increase women s participation in socio economic activities and also to empower them and creating friendly working atmosphere for women. However, beyond these first-round victories of visibility and mobility lie new constraints and new areas of strategic challenges. Gender parity at tertiary education levels is still low and will need considerable improvement. The target was set to achieve gender parity at tertiary education no later than 2015; unfortunately only 24 percent has been reached by 2005. During the last ten years, the enrolment of students at the tertiary level has increased 4.5 fold from 62,125 in 1997 to 280,516 in 2006. During 1997-2005, female enrolment in tertiary has increased 2.6 times and male 3.6 times. This implies a lower rate increase of tertiary enrolment among females as compared to that of the males. All projects in NICHE will address the equality of opportunities for women and promote access to post secondary education positions within the teaching staff. Also projects will introduce gender in education curricula. Labour Market Along with economic growth, Bangladesh s labour force has also been growing fairly rapidly. Bangladesh has had relatively strong economic performance in the past decade, with GDP growth averaging more than five percent a year during the 1990s and real GDP growing by nearly 52 percent over the same period. Bangladesh will need to create at least two and one-quarter million jobs per year to accommodate a near doubling of the labour force from its present size of 55 million to 100 million in 2020. This is creating more pressure on the economy to employ these individuals in good quality jobs. The main challenge for the skill development system is to overcome its inadequate orientation to the labour market. Formal providers of technical and vocational education and training do not have strong linkages with the private sector employers that drive the changing patterns of labour demand; nor do they have proper incentives to build those connections, which would ensure that skill development courses are relevant and useful to both graduates and employers. The link between the labour market and the education and training providers needs to be strengthened in order to ensure that training institutions deliver the competencies required by the labour market. This will be within all programs developed one of the core objectives for NICHE Bangladesh. Objectives and expected outcomes The needs analysis and discussions with stakeholders have resulted in the formulation of a set of objectives for NICHE activities in the years to come and their longer-term effects (outcomes). At the same time, the analysis provides information that describes the current state of the art in the NICHE Programme Outline Format 6
intervention areas. These data serve as benchmarks for measuring the progress in achieving the objectives in the years to come. Three categories of objectives are important in the NICHE programme: (i) those focusing on strengthening the education and training capacity,(ii) those that will contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of women and girls (gender), and (iii) those that link education and training to the labour market. The table in Annex 1 contains the objectives and outcomes for the NICHE programme in Bangladesh. Indicative programme budget For the programme period the following indicative budget is available: Programme period: 2010 2014. Sector 1. Water Sector 2. Good Governance Total Euro 8 million Euro 3 million Euro 11 million Note: 1. The indicative budget is subject to changes in the availability of funds per year at country and programme level. Also political decisions governing the programme may influence the availability of indicative budgets. Nuffic reserves the right to adjust the indicative budget resulting from these intervening factors. Coordination with other programmes The following strategy will be adopted to ensure good coordination with other programmes. Project planning: identification and selection of topics and partners for project implementation will be done in consultation with Government of the Netherlands, the Government of Bangladesh and other relevant stakeholders in order to avoid overlap and ensure complementarily with existing policies, sector programmes and development programmes. Project implementation: during programme implementation, Nuffic and local expert groups will coach and stimulate the NICHE implementing partners in seizing opportunities for co-ordination of project activities with those of other projects and programmes which target the same or related objectives. Project monitoring and evaluation: monitoring and evaluation of NICHE activities will be outputs and outcome based. The outputs and outcomes relate to formulated objectives and planned results at project, sector and country programme level. In the planning and formulation stage co-ordination with existing policies and programmes is one of the guiding principles. The M&E of NICHE activities NICHE Programme Outline Format 7
will assess to what extent activities adhere to the achievement of the original objectives, and if adjustments have to be made, how these changes affect the co-ordination with other projects and programmes. Reporting: findings of monitoring and evaluation of NICHE activities will be shared with the EKN and the Bangladesh Government for information and perusal. On the basis of the M&E reports the Nuffic may decide that adjustments to the programme are needed in order to better co-ordinate the activities with (changing) circumstances, policies and programmes. The Development Partners in the relevant Sector or Thematic Groups will be kept informed about the developments in the NICHE programme by the EKN sector specialists. Progress Monitoring Once a year Nuffic reports about the progress of the NICHE programme in Bangladesh to the Dutch Government and the national authority. The report describes the progress achieved against the objectives stated above and the implementation of the programme. Successes and set backs are being analysed and suggestions made to remedy shortcomings and possibly redefine strategies and adapt outcomes, in order to learn from it. Hence organisations are requested to keep track of successes and setbacks in order to learn from it and invest in a learning organisation. This annual report forms the basis of a trilateral discussion between the Dutch government, the national authority and Nuffic to appraise the validity of the Programme Outline. The partners may decide that adaptations are needed and that a revised and updated version needs to be formulated. Duration The Programme Outline is valid for the duration that is agreed upon between the Dutch government and the national authority. At the start of the programme in a country, the intended validity period of the Programme Outline is maximum four years, starting in 2010. Every year the Programme Outline is being appraised. The partners (including Nuffic) may decide that the Programme Outline needs to be updated and adjusted. The partners may agree on a revised version of the document, or on adding a signed addendum to the existing one. Endorsement The Programme is endorsed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of The Netherlands on behalf of the Netherlands Government and by the Economic Relations Division of the Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of Bangladesh. NICHE Programme Outline Format 8
Annexes Annex 1. Matrix of objectives and potential outcomes of the NICHE programme Annex 2. Implementation Plan of NICHE for the Water sector in Bangladesh (not included) Annex 3.Implementation Plan of NICHE for the Good Governance sector in Bangladesh (not included) Annex 4. Abbreviation list Annex 5. List of Documents considered NICHE Programme Outline Format 9
Annex 1. Matrix of objectives and potential outcomes of the NICHE programme Objectives Benchmark of the present status Medium Term Outcome(s) 4 years Longer Term Outcome(s) 8 years Education and training capacity in the following sectors: To enhance the capacity of national education and training institutions, in: - Integrated Water Resources and Land Use Management - Climate Change and Water Governance - Good governance Low level of knowledge and quality in human recourses output in the sector Low level of leadership and competencies of institutions Training offered in selected subjects is too theoretical and not sufficiently linked to requirements of the labour market Lack of expertise in education and training institutes to translate labour market demands into education curricula Selected education and training institutes are able to develop, teach and manage the improved education programmes in selected subjects Training programmes developed under NICHE have introduced interactive teaching concepts geared towards acquiring knowledge, attitudes and skills in a multidisciplinary manner Selected institutions have upgraded their staff in selected fields Selected institutions have upgraded their technical knowledge in the selected fields and their managerial skills and competences Education and training institutes have improved their professional standing and have become more attractive to new students, employers and / or research clients How will these objectives impact on the position, rights and opportunities of women and girls? To support the decline on gender discrepancies in the education and training institutions in Bangladesh regarding access, gender Little attention to gender in education programmes and curricula. Access is low of women from disadvantaged areas or minority groups The NICHE projects will support the incorporation of gender and its definition in tangible objectives and results In the NICHE projects human The NICHE supported institutes demonstrate improvements in: - gender balance of the personnel; - access of women from disadvantaged - NICHE Programme Outline Format 10
balance and course content to education and training programmes Gender imbalances persist in personnel of education and training institutions Women are underrepresented in education and training programs resources have become more gender balanced in terms of student enrolment, staff employment and management In the NICHE projects, the developed curricula include gender and are gender sensitive - areas or minority groups to education and training programmes; - attention for gender in curricula How will these objectives impact on the labour market? In the selected sectors the education and training programmes respond to the changing demand in the labour market Few higher education study programmes are designed in such a way that the changing requirements of the labour market are taken into consideration Institutions still mostly offer training according to their supply ability and not according to enterprise or society demand Selected institutions respond in their planning and implementation of their education and training programs to (changing) needs and demands of the labour market Increased numbers of professionals with the appropriate competencies in terms of knowledge, attitude and skills which are badly needed by employers Better cooperation between education and training institutions and employers linking demand to competencies being taught Education and training institutions have the capacity to develop and implement good quality education and training programmes, are successful in attracting students, and delivering graduates with relevant knowledge attitudes and skills NICHE Programme Outline Format 11
Annex 4. Abbreviation List ADB BAU BPI BUET BWDB CEGIS CUET DUET ECNWRC EKN ERD GoB GoN GPWM IDB IFAD IWM JICA KUET LGED MASP MoWR MSc NGO NICHE NWPo SUST UCG UNDP WARPO Asian Development Bank Bangladesh Agricultural University Bogra Polytechnic Institute Bangladesh University for Engineering and Technology Bangladesh Water Development Board, Centre for Environmental and Geographical Information Services Chittagong University of Engineering Technology Dhaka University of Engineering Technology Executive Committee of the National Water Resources Council the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Economic Relations Division Government of Bangladesh Government of the Netherlands Participatory Water Management Islamic Development Bank International Fund for Agricultural Development Institute for Water Modelling Japan International Cooperation Agency Khulna University of Engineering Technology Local Government Engineering Department Multi Annual Strategic Plan Ministry of Water Resources Master of Science PhD Non Governmental Organization Netherlands Initiative for Capacity development in Higher Education National Water Policy Shahjalal University of Science and Technology University Commission Grants United Nations Development Programme Water Resources Planning Organization NICHE Programme Outline Format 12
Annex 5. List of Documents considered Prior to the missions, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh had made a number of strategic documents available to the team. A desk study of the following available documents realized. These included: EKN, Multi Annual Strategic Plan 2010-2011 of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh. EKN (November 2008), Sector Track Record Water. Bangladesh National Water Policy 1999. National Water Management Plan, Development Strategy, June 2001. Five year Strategic Plan of BWDB, November 2009. Initiatives for Civil Service Reform program, July 2009 Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) Bangladesh, 2008 Millennium Development Goals, Bangladesh Progress Report, February 2005 Election Manifesto of Bangladesh Awami League-2008, Ninth Parliamentary Elections 2008 Building a 21 st Century Public Administration in Bangladesh, End of Assignment Report by the Formulation Mission on Civil Service Reform Program, September 16 October 9, 2007, UNDP Bangladesh NICHE Programme Outline Format 13