Government Prioritises Washington Accord Recognition for Engineering Education: Mahdi Amin
The government is prioritising international accreditation to improve engineering education in Bangladesh, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Education and Primary and Mass Education Mahdi Amin has said.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the BAETE National Symposium 2026 at Hotel InterContinental in Dhaka on Sunday, he said modern training, global connectivity and industry collaboration would help develop skilled engineers.
The government is ready to provide the necessary policy support to bring more engineering programmes under the Washington Accord, which he said would play an important role in advancing engineering education in the country.
The symposium was organised by the Board of Accreditation for Engineering and Technical Education (BAETE) of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB).
Mahdi Amin said Bangladeshi engineers were demonstrating their capabilities at leading multinational companies and higher education institutions worldwide. The challenge, he said, was to ensure that young people had the opportunities, resources and infrastructure needed to succeed.
He stressed the importance of international accreditation in bringing engineering education up to global standards, citing the Washington Accord and the Dublin Accord as examples.
To improve educational quality, he called for an appropriate teacher-student ratio, internationally trained faculty, a strong research culture and modern curricula. He also stressed the need for quality laboratories, well-equipped libraries and access to international research journals.
Referring to advances in information technology, artificial intelligence and robotics, the adviser said engineering education must be grounded in ethical values to ensure technology served humanity.
Although AI could write code and solve complex problems, human responsibility and accountability remained essential to ensuring ethical use of technology, he said.
Mahdi Amin said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had placed people at the centre of policymaking and prioritised youth empowerment. He called for coordinated efforts among industry, academia and policymakers to develop an integrated policy framework.
He added that the government had begun working to improve education and technology standards during its first eight months in office and would continue supporting efforts to bring more universities and engineering programmes under international accreditation.
The event was chaired by BAETE Chairman Professor Dr Tanvir Manzur.
Among those present were Dublin Accord Chair Professor Dr Megat Johari Megat Mohd Noor, Washington Accord Chair Professor Dr Kai Sang Lock, Bangladesh Accreditation Council Chairman Professor Dr Md Akhtar Hossain Khan, IEB President Engineer Mohammad Rezaul Islam, former lawmaker Engineer Shahrin Islam Chowdhury Tuhin and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Commerce Engineer Khaled Hossain Mahbub.
