“The Value of Vocation”

This is the title of a recent report from the International Monetary Fund. The report emphasizes, for developing countries, the importance of vocational training linked to services required for further economic development. In many cases, good vocational training is more useful – for students and the country – than undergraduate university degrees.

BHP donors support vocational education through Oasis for Posterity Institute for Science and Technology. Results were recently posted for compulsory government exams written by OIST students studying Computer Science and Civil Engineering. These national exams covered all subjects studied in accredited polytechnic institutes during 2024. As in previous years, OIST students performed significantly better than other area students, shown in the graph below.

The results for 6th semester OIST students are compared with seven other, anonymized vocational colleges in the Rangpur division (population about 18 million).

OIST results compared with seven other colleges

Open education resources support WHO nurse educator competencies

A recent article by BHP Director Alex Berland and colleagues is now available in a publisher version through Research Gate. It describes an innovative approach to tackling the shortage of qualified nurse educators, which is a major constraining factor or ‘bottle‐neck’ to improve the global supply of nurses, especially in low‐ and middle‐income countries. To address this specific challenge, one of BHP’s partners, Nurses International, has developed Open Education Resources [NI-OER] to support nurse educators with freely accessible curriculum materials and remote mentoring support.

Some of the original curriculum materials were developed by BHP volunteers at the IUBAT College of Nursing in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The paper analyzes how the NI‐OER could assist nursing colleges and individual faculty members in meeting the WHO Nurse Educator Core Competencies. The article concludes, “Technological solutions cannot solve all aspects of a complex problem like the global nursing shortage but… the NI‐OER appears to have the potential to support novice nurse educators with accessible, adaptable resources.”

Tackling non-communicable disease

Farm-workers take a break from harvesting for a blood sugar check

In Bangladesh over 10 million adults live with diabetes and this number continues to rise. In rural areas it is difficult to deliver screening programs due to shortage of health care providers and outreach is often non-existent. Rabiul Islam, head of Oasis for Posterity recently sent photos from the weekly paramedic program offered by the OfP Healthcare Centre.

OfP volunteers are also learning how to use a glucometer

A trained paramedic, supported by BHP, provides blood glucose tests and prevention advice for Balagram community members in their homes and workplaces. She also trains OfP volunteers who can offer basic follow-up care at the chronic illness drop-in clinic held in OfP’s vocational college nearby.

Outreach services improve access to services for working people