The government has suspended admission activities at 621 vocational education institutions across Bangladesh for failing to meet the conditions set under the 2024 policy for private technical institutions. The decision, announced in an order signed by Md. Al Masud Karim, Secretary and Inspector (additional charge) of the Technical Education Board, also requires these institutions to explain by July 22 why their teaching approval should not be revoked. Among the affected institutions, 443 operate under the SSC (Vocational) program and 178 under the Dakhil (Vocational) program.

According to the board, the action targets institutions that have not enrolled students for a long time and have failed to fulfill requirements related to admissions, results, infrastructure, staffing, management, and other conditions. The board retains the authority to cancel or withdraw teaching approval for non-compliance. In a separate notice, the minimum age for ninth-grade admission in SSC and Dakhil (Vocational) programs has been reduced from 13 to 12 years.

Additionally, all technical institutions have been instructed to plant fruit and forest trees under the government’s five-year plan to plant 250 million trees, with progress reports due by June 30.