South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) and ActionAid Bangladesh have conducted a study to develop a Sectoral Action Plan, to help implement gender-sensitive budgeting in Bangladesh. To share the findings of this study, SANEM and ActionAid Bangladesh jointly hosted a webinar on “Sectoral Action Plan for Youth Sensitive Budgeting” on 28 October 2021. The chief guest of the webinar was Planning Minister M. A. Mannan, MP. The webinar was chaired by Ms Farah Kabir, Country Director, ActionAid Bangladesh and moderated by Dr Sayema Haque Bidisha, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka and Research Director of SANEM. Ms Eshrat Sharmin, Senior Research Associate, SANEM, delivered the keynote presentation during the webinar. Among the panellists present were Mr Md. Borhanul Haque, Joint Secretary, Technical and Madrasah Education Division, Ministry of Education, Ms Yeasmin Akther, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare, Dr Zahirul Islam, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr Nazmul Ahsan, Manager, Young People, ActionAid Bangladesh, and Mr Debangshu Kumar Ghosh, Operations Manager, BRAC Skill Development Programme. Dr Selim Raihan, Professor, Department of Economics, University of Dhaka and Executive Director, SANEM, shared his special remarks during the discussion.

The session commenced with opening remarks from Dr Raihan, stressing on the importance of proper utilization of demographic dividend in policy-making. SANEM and ActionAid Bangladesh have been working together on youth for a while, which led to the project on Sectoral Action Plan. Our target will be to highlight the key areas of the plan,” he added.

Sayema Haque Bidisha portrayed the challenges faced by young people, which could stand in the way of reaping the benefits of demographic dividend. She remarked, “We need to focus on two aspects; firstly, we have to provide ample work opportunities, as well as help with education and skill development, which will help the youth population grow. However, as the world faces the impacts of COVID-19, we face challenges regarding employment generation in the post-COVID era and challenges of the upcoming fourth industrial revolution. The skill mismatch issues have led to a high rate of unemployment among the educated youth. In fact, according to BBS, 29% of the people belonging to the 15-29 year age group are not in education, employment and training (NEET), the rate of which is up to 49% in young women. Keeping these challenges in mind, we are proposing the Sectoral Action Plan, hoping that the framework will help us utilize our nation’s youth.

The session chair, Ms Farah Kabir, talked about the way forward with the Sectoral Action Plan. “The narrative of the sectoral http://healthsavy.com action plan has to be sent to relevant ministries, on why we should work with the youth and how we should include them, or else this would become a tick-box exercise. We need to instill the confidence in the youth that not everyone needs to be doctors or engineers, instead, they could also become innovators and entrepreneurs. Higher education is important, however, if it leads to higher unemployment, we are creating a problem, especially in the post-COVID era. Moreover, we should consider whether the sectoral action plan can involve stimulus packages for youth employed in various sectors, as well as accommodation and transportation,” she said.

During the keynote presentation, Eshrat Sharmin laid out the framework of the Sectoral Action Plan. The plan has two broad themes of Human Capital Development and Livelihood, under which there are six key priority areas: education, employment, income, health, poverty and domestic violence. The National Youth Action Plan 2019, laid out by the Government of Bangladesh, was a starting point for arriving at this framework. Analyses of SDGs and National Action Plans (NAP), along with the conduction of Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) across relevant ministries, were utilized to arrive at the Sectoral Action Plan Matrix framework. The presentation was summed up with recommendations which included the adoption of a Youth-Focused Comprehensive and Long-term Action Plan for Education and Health, skill development programmes for youth under formal education, investment in research, building a better business environment, affordable mental health services, support centres for domestic violence victims, and enabling proper environment for youth with special needs.

During the panel discussion session, Mr Md Borhanul Haque stressed the importance of vocational training to increase skill development, stating how the timeframe to achieve the benefits of demographic dividend will be over by 2051. He suggested the inclusion of vocational training in the formal school system, including a vocational subject in the curriculum from class 6 onwards. Dr Zahirul Islam stated the importance of how to increase employment, the skills earned by the youth should be in demand in the labour market, adding the need to have social protection measures and institutional and non-institutional training. Ms Yeasmin Akther reiterated that to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic, budgeting with a focus on youth would ensure fair distribution and focus on youth from all regions of the nation. Mentioning how Bangladesh has already crossed 78% of its demographic dividend, Mr Nazmul Ahsan stressed the need for a Sectoral Action plan for the youth, which will help follow the government’s Vision 2041. He also mentioned the need for a coordinating body for all these ministries to increase youth-focused budgetary allocation. Mr Debangshu Kumar Ghosh stated that despite the discussion about vocational training, the reality remains that the youth are not as attracted to TVET, so unless the mindset about TVET cannot be positively influenced on the grassroots level, the targets cannot be implemented successfully.

Followed by an open discussion session with youth from various regions of the country, the Honourable Planning Minister M.A Mannan emphasized the need for a proper environment for the youth in terms of physical, cultural, and work environment. In a previous webinar of SANEM regarding the Youth Budget Framework, he stated the idea of a Sectoral Action Plan for the youth. He stated, “We need to rethink our rush towards higher education. The youth need to carefully consider and take up subjects that are in demand in the labour market, which will help reduce the rate of unemployed educated youth in the country.” Finally, Mr M.A Mannan expressed his aspiration for the country’s youth, stating the commitment and desire of the Government of Bangladesh to support the youth in their endeavours.

Download the presentation of the webinar.