Foreign Worker in S’pore Opens Polytechnic in Hometown Back in Bangladesh

For many, many years now, Singapore has been setting some serious global trends.

• Global trade
• New languages
• Outspoken child activists

And it seems that now, they’ve done it again.

Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce you to…

The Bangladesh-constructed Polytechnic that took inspiration from Singapore’s own.

Bangladesh Worker in S’pore Opens Polytechnic in Hometown After Seeing S’pore Education System

North East Ideal Polyclinic Institute. That’s the name of the Polytechnic Joy Sudip Bhadro set up in his hometown, after being enamoured with the Singapore Education system.

Seven years ago, Joy was still toiling away on construction sites here in sunny Singapore. And when he wasn’t working under the glaring rays of the sun, he can be found outside a polytechnic, gazing in admiration as students walked in and out the school gates.

As he observed the students, he thought about how he was unable to complete high school due to financial constraints. Back in his hometown of Habiganj, many youngsters graduating from primary school faced such issues as well, with a lack of technical knowledge contributing to unemployment or low-paid, laborious jobs.

And so a dream was borne.

The dream of opening a polytechnic in his town, a whopping 3,917 kilometres away.

North East Ideal Polytechnic Institute

Having gathered funds and resources gradually throughout the years, Joy roped in his wife and family to help and slowly, a dream conceived on the streets of Singapore became reality.

What started out as a group of eight to ten students huddled in a tin shed with two teachers, soon spiralled into a whole three-storey building with more than 200 students.

And although the current premises aren’t exactly something Tony Stark will approve of, they’ve definitely come a long way.

Incidentally, only three courses are offered here: Civil engineering, electrical engineering and computer engineering. These courses were selected because of high demand in both the government and private sectors.

Since 2012, two batches of 57 students have graduated, and 85 per cent of them have found jobs related to their area of study. Some of them have even procured a job even before graduating.

Also, school fees are definitely more lenient on the polytechnic’s side. Before the institute was set up, town folks who wanted a vocational education had to travel to cities like Sylhet and Dhaka, where fees were more expensive. The North East Ideal Polytechnic Institute’s fees, on the other hand, are about S$130 per semester, as much as eight times cheaper. Furthermore, poorer families receive subsidies.

Students have certainly been grateful as well.

“Now I can call myself an engineer,” former student Mohammed Al-Amin Shah said. “I can even catch on to things quicker than (my colleagues) who studied in the general line.”

“If we didn’t understand something, our teachers told us to call them at night. They even encouraged us to come back to school on Fridays (a rest day) if we needed help,” he continued.

According to Channel News Asia, there are actually plans to open a second branch at Srimangal in Moulvibazar, another town in the Sylhet division. And if all goes well, more affordable education will be available in Joy’s land…

And to think it all started right here, in sunny Singapore.

#Singaporepride

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