How NU rethink on curriculum can drive a big change

By 2030, revenue in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market is projected to reach US$492 billion worldwide, up from US$ 435 billion in 2026, with a CAGR of 3.08 per cent as stated by Statista, a global statistics provider. According to Grand View Horizon, an international tech think-tank, the business process outsourcing market in India is projected to reach US$47 billion in revenue by 2033, up from US$18 billion in 2025. So, India is targeting almost 9.55 per cent of the global market share by then. Whereas Bangladesh's outsourcing (BPO) earnings surged only to $900 million in the first half of 2025, surpassing the $850 million earned in 2024, according to Tanvir Ibrahim, president of the Bangladesh Association of Contact Center and Outsourcing (Bacco). Currently, Bangladesh holds only 0.23 per cent global market share. 

The World Trade Organization (WTO) report titled 'World Trade Report 2023' stated in 2024 that Bangladesh hosted 14 per cent of the global freelancing community. On the other hand, the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) reported that Bangladesh was the second-largest supplier of online labourers, with a labour share of 16 per cent, trailing only India, which has a 24 per cent labour share. Experts suggest that Bangladesh is home to 1.0 million (10 lakh) freelancers, of whom 650,000 work in the IT field. Despite a large number of freelancers and BPO professionals, earnings in this sector remain very low due to a lack of technical skills, language proficiency, and professionalism.

According to the National University of Bangladesh (NU), at present, roughly 3.5 million students are studying in around 2,257 colleges under this university. Unfortunately, many undergraduate and master's courses, such as Pali, Sanskrit, Philosophy, History, Political Science, Geography, Islamic Studies, etc., have little relevance to employment. But a large number of students are studying these subjects just for an academic certificate. Moreover, there are serious allegations about the quality of education at these colleges. Most students are neither acquiring knowledge nor developing skills. It results in an increasing number of unemployed graduates in the country. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Labour Force Survey 2024, over 8.85 lakh tertiary-educated individuals are unemployed, with one in three fresh graduates facing joblessness for up to 2 years, marking the highest unemployment rate among all education levels.

China handled its growing population by focusing on adjusting its education system. They realized in the early 1980s that if their education system focused on students learning to chase traditional desk jobs, then there would be a shortage of jobs. So, they shifted their curriculum from a knowledge-based one to a skill-oriented one. Now China has become the "Factory of the World," with millions of enterprises employing billions of people. India has also focused on the global outsourcing industry to create jobs for millions of its graduates. Three to five cities in South India have become popular for their IT infrastructure, resources, and connectivity. Bangladesh has a sufficient number of young, energetic, and talented people; all we need is to change the mindset and reform the entire education system.

The global BPO market has huge potential in Live Chat & Email Support, IT & Web Development, Data Entry, Content Creation, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, Virtual Assistance, App Development, Digital Marketing, Graphic Design, Animation, Video Editing, Medical Transcription, Translation, Telemarketing, Market Research, Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO), Call Centers, Payroll Management, Tax Preparation, Accounts Payable/Receivable, Software Development, Cybersecurity, Talent Management, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Data Analysis, Logistics Tracking and hundreds of activities. 

The National University of Bangladesh first needs to identify the BPO courses that will have demand at least for the next twenty-five years. The second activity will be to develop a curriculum for each potential course commensurate with global best practices. The education programme duration will be three years, and upon successfully passing the course, students will receive a graduation certificate equivalent to a degree (pass) course. The third activity will be to select public and private colleges across all districts and upazilas to introduce the courses in phases. The fourth action plan will be to recruit and train faculty members under globally reputed master trainers of each course. The fifth activity will be to set up computer labs with high-speed internet facilities at the listed colleges. National University will prepare a five-year budget with the assistance of the colleges concerned, and the government will allocate funds accordingly. If private colleges intend to offer BPO degree courses, they will also receive allocation, subject to the availability of necessary basic infrastructure and faculty.

The courses must focus on hands-on training and practical classes rather than theories. English proficiency should be a must for each course. At least three modules should be compulsory in oral and written communication, as our students are very weak in these areas. In addition to English, professional etiquette should be a mandatory subject in the syllabus, as it is essential for dealing with overseas employers. A four-month internship needs to be part of the curriculum to provide students with on-the-job training. These degree programmes should be designed so that graduates can start earning as BPO professionals right after completing their studies. NU must update its curriculum and train its faculty every three years in line with industry developments and best practices. 

If the National University of Bangladesh undertakes this initiative, it will be a breakthrough for the country's higher education system, economy, and job creation. The prevailing education system, which is creating unskilled and unemployed graduates, will undergo a massive restructuring. Over time, students will focus on employment-driven education rather than on unnecessary, certificate-driven courses. Students will have the worth of their time, money, and energy in a career-building education system. The academia-industry linkage will build the capacity of a skilled workforce, which not only reduces graduate unemployment but also increases the nation's foreign earnings. So, curriculum reform at The National University of Bangladesh has become a necessity of the hour to capture a significant share of the global BPO market and convert NU's future graduates into BPO professionals.

Dr. Shayokh Ahmad is Assistant Professor (Adjunct faculty) at BRAC University and Lead Consultant at Xurtials Limited.

drshayokahmad@gmail.com