Market Intelligence Brief - Bangladesh 2018-19

Bangladesh's demand for highly skilled workers is growing, along with the education pathways to develop them. The number of students enrolled in tertiary education in Bangladesh has increased by a staggering 1 million since 2010. With a severe shortage of HE places available domestically, and universities frequently disrupted by political and social unrest, study abroad has more than doubled over the past five years. Malaysia remains by far the top destination for Bangladeshi students, owing to its relatively open visa policies and low tuition fees. The US, Australia and Canada have captured most of the remaining growth in outbound study – all have seen enrolments rise by over 50 per cent in the past five years of reported data. Meanwhile, the UK has struggled to capitalise on the growing overseas study trend, with enrolments falling by half over the same time frame. Only three UK HE institutions had more than 100 Bangladesh-domiciled enrolments in 2016/17, down from 10 just five years earlier. Removal of the post study work visa and more stringent visa vetting are mainly to blame. The market could now be turning a corner, however, with UK study visa rising by 40 per cent between 2016 and 2018.