The inclusion of public procurement as a course/subject module in relevant departments of colleges and universities in the country was highlighted during an open discussion on 5 March 2023 by the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) for a number of government officers in a training course on public procurement management organized by BCS Administration Academy.

Members of the 34th course on public procurement management conducted by the BCS Administration Academy on its premises in Dhaka visited CPTU for a learning session about CPTU functions as a nodal agency of public procurement in Bangladesh.

A total of 25 government officers of various offices under the 34^th batch of BCSAA course on public procurement management received two-week training from the BCS Administration Academy. Before completion of their training they attended the learning session at CPTU.

Director General of CPTU Mr. Md Shoheler Rahman Chowdhury chaired the session. Director of CPTU Mr. Masud Akhter Khan moderated it and made a presentation on professionalizing public procurement. Directors Mr. Md Shamimul Haque, Mr. Nasimur Rahman Sharif and Mr. Md. Mahfuzar Rahman attended the program. Deputy Director (Training) of BCSAA Mr. Sohel Rana was also present on the occasion.

Mr. Masud Akhter Khan in his presentation touched upon the journey towards reforms in public procurement since 2002. He said public procurement is now recognized as a profession and the CPTU has worked a lot for this. Mr. Khan mentioned the size of the budget for the post-independence year was only an amount of 786 crore taka. In the current 2022-23 fiscal year, it shoots up to 6 lakh 78 thousand crore tata. Now an amount of 32 billion US dollars is spent on public procurement. So, ensuring value for money in spending public money is very important, he asserted. Mr. Khan also dwelt on professionalizing of public procurement. He elaborated on CPTU achievements in capacity building and professionalization of public procurement in the country.

The DG CPTU said that the CPTU is advancing with its activities towards the journey of building Smart Bangladesh through digitalization. The process of public procurement in the country is going to be paperless fully. He said the outlay of national budget is increasing every year and so the value and volume of public procurement is also going upward. Mr. Chowdhury mentioned some new features added to the e-GP system such as electronic audit (e-audit), electronic contract management system (e-CMS), direct procurement method (DPM) module, international competitive tender (ICT), integration with iBAS++ and national ID and tenderers data base (TDB). He also mentioned sustainable public procurement policy and added integration of e-GP system with VAT and TIN is under process.

During the open discussion, the issue of inclusion of public procurement as a course module/independent subject at the university level came up and DG CPTU replied that this is a good idea. It is high time to establish public procurement as an academic discipline. “We are going to write to universities from CPTU in this connection,” the DG CPTU said. He also said presently, the CPTU is supporting MCIPS course at BRAC University. Mr. Shamimul Haque said that recently University of Dhaka showed a positive attitude in introducing one credit course on public procurement in its Business Studies Faculty.

The issues of ensuring quality in public procurement, complaints, e-GP help desk support, clarification on legal aspects in procurement process, technical sub-committee and disposal policy came up for discussion. The DG CPTU addressed those properly.