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IN 2022, universities across Bangladesh formally adopted outcome-based education, guided by the University Grants Commission’s curriculum template. Since independence, the country has largely relied on a traditional education model inherited from the colonial era — one that prioritises lectures, content delivery, and routine teaching practices. Outcome-based education, or OBE, by contrast, marks a significant global shift in higher education. It is widely valued for emphasising outcomes that are relevant, measurable and aligned with the expectations of students, industry and society. Unlike the traditional model, outcome-based education focuses on what students can demonstrably achieve by the end of a learning experience.

However, the adoption of outcome-based education in Bangladesh raises an important question: Can a framework developed in the late 20th century — well before artificial intelligence, automation and the fourth industrial revolution — fully prepare students for the world they are entering?

This concern is not theoretical. Outcome-based education emerged in the 1980s through the work of American educator William Spady, whose model focused on clarity of learning outcomes, curriculum alignment and measurable achievement. Its purpose was to address the rigidities of traditional education — not to anticipate the demands of fourth industrial revolution. Major international bodies, including UNESCO, the OECD and the World Economic Forum, have repeatedly observed that education frameworks designed before the digital era were never built with future-oriented, adaptive competencies in mind.

The urgency becomes clearer when we recognise that today’s world demands far more than subject knowledge and generic skills. Students must now develop adaptive skills — the ability to learn, unlearn, relearn, collaborate, think critically and respond creatively to unpredictable challenges. These competencies are at the core of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs reports. The OECD’s Education 2030 initiative similarly highlights the need for ‘transformative competencies’ such as resilience, creativity, reflection and socio-emotional intelligence.

Yet, despite its strengths, the original outcome-based education model did not explicitly incorporate these adaptive skills. The framework relies heavily on Bloom’s Taxonomy, which organises learning into hierarchical cognitive processes from lower-order skills — remembering, understanding and applying — to higher-order skills — analysing, synthesising, evaluating and creating. While this offers solid intellectual scaffolding, it does not fully account for dynamic, context-dependent capabilities like innovation, emotional intelligence or adaptability. Scholars have long argued that although outcome-based education is excellent for structuring program learning, it struggles to capture complex, emergent competencies unless higher learning institutions intentionally integrate them.

Under the current outcome-based education structure, academic departments define three components, program educational objectives, program outcomes, and course outcomes. Program educational objectives outline the expected achievements of graduates within 3–5 years of completing their degrees. Program outcomes define the broader competencies students should develop upon graduation, while course outcomes specify the skills and knowledge students are expected to acquire in individual courses. Curricula are then designed around these components. Course outcomes are typically structured using Bloom’s Taxonomy. This approach creates consistency and helps teachers plan more effectively, while allowing students to understand expectations clearly. These strengths explain why outcome-based education spread rapidly around the world; it solved many persistent weaknesses of teacher-centred, content-driven education.

But the world of today is not the world in which outcome-based education originated. The fourth industrial revolution driven by automation, artificial intelligence, robotics, big data and biotechnology — is transforming industries at unprecedented speed. Machines no longer merely follow instructions; they can now make decisions that resemble human judgment. The nature of work is changing, and the jobs of tomorrow remain uncertain.Ìý In such a climate, subject-specific expertise alone is no longer enough. Students need adaptability, creativity, critical thinking, resilience, and emotional intelligence — skills that help them navigate ambiguity, cross disciplinary boundaries and innovate in environments that are constantly changing.

Here lies the central challenge: while outcome-based education remains an effective framework for defining and assessing technical competencies, it does not naturally accommodate the adaptive skills that fourth industrial revolution demands. As a result, universities risk producing graduates who meet every accreditation checklist yet struggle when confronted with real-world complexity. Careers are no longer linear, and professionals increasingly shift roles, industries and responsibilities. Adaptive skills are what enable them to reskill, upskill and respond constructively to continuous change.

A second challenge has emerged alongside this shift. Students now instinctively turn to Google, YouTube and AI assistants for instant answers. For them, speed and relevance often outweigh deep, structured learning. This behaviour exposes the limits of the traditional ‘just-in-case’ semester-long model, which feels increasingly outdated in an age of instantaneous access. Universities must therefore rethink what kinds of learning experiences genuinely add value — particularly those that cultivate curiosity, persistence, collaboration and reflective thinking.

How universities will adapt remains an open question. But one conclusion is clear: integrating adaptive skills and fostering positive learning behaviours can no longer be optional. If Bangladesh is to prepare its graduates for the realities of the fourth industrial revolution, the outcome-based education framework must evolve. Beyond checklists and accreditation requirements, universities must teach students how to thrive in a world defined by uncertainty, complexity and constant change.

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MM Shahidul Hassan is a distinguished professor at Eastern University and former vice chancellor of East West University.Ìý