




































American International Journal of Education and Linguistics Research 

Vol. 4, No. 2; 2021 

ISSN 2641-7987   E-ISSN 2641-7995 

Published by American Center of Science and Education, USA 

 

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EXCURSION TO THE SMART DIMENSION THROUGH 

MATHEMATICS: SIGNIFICANCE OF OUTCOME-BASED 

EDUCATION 
                                   
 

Nushrat Hashmi 

Lecturer 

Department of Mathematics 

CCN University of Science & Technology, Bangladesh  

 

Monica Rani Das 

Lecturer 

 Department of Mathematics 

CCN University of Science & Technology, Bangladesh  

 

Ikbal Ahmed 

Lecturer 

 Department of CSE 

CCN University of Science & Technology, Bangladesh  

 

     

ABSTRACT 

The advancement of a smart society depends to a large extent on the standard of the higher 

education system. The fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR), or smart industry, is the trend related 

to artificial intelligence, changing various aspects of life, especially the education system. The 

flow of the smart industry, spurring Bangladesh to accept the technologies of the FIR. The drift 

of FIR will drop a strong impact on our graduates. The smart industry needs the efficiency of 

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Mathematics is a scaffold to the 

next industrial revolution. So, our university education system should be convenient to set up our 

graduates all around the smart world and overcome the industrial requirements; it is 

compulsory to adopt Outcome-Based Education (OBE). OBE templates were approved at the 

157th meeting of the University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) on 06 February 2020. 

Recently, UGC has requested that all universities modify their undergrad educational plans 

depending on the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) layout. The purpose of this article is to look 

at the significance of skilled Mathematics alumni for the smart world, and we also examine the 

challenges of actualizing Outcome-Based Education (OBE). 

 

Keywords: Fourth Industrial Revolution(FIR), Smart industrial requirements, Education System, 

Outcome-based Education (OBE). 

 

INTRODUCTION 

We stay close to the unstable edge of a mechanical change that will, on a fundamental level, 

adjust the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, expansion, and multifaceted 

nature, the change will not be typical for anything humankind has experienced already. We don't 



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yet know precisely how it will spread out; anyway, one thing is clear: the response to it ought to 

be facilitated and broad, including all accomplices of the overall nation, from individuals all in 

all and private regions to the insightful network and regular society. Like the transformations that 

went before it, the Fourth Industrial Revolution can raise worldwide pay levels and improve the 

personal satisfaction for populaces around the globe. 

Developing the first Industrial Revolution, which used water and steam ability to 

mechanize creation, the second, which used electric ability to make huge scope, producing and 

the third, which used devices and information advancement to automate creation; the fourth 

Industrial Revolution is taking computerization higher than at any other time, darkening the lines 

between the physical, progressed, and natural circles and utilizing advances to perform 

assignments recently completed by people. 

Source: How Will We Work? How Will Your Job Change? (2025) 

 

A new report found that computerization will substitute 800 million incompetent laborers 

worldwide by 2030 (World Economic Forum, 2020). To get the advantage of new technological 

opportunities, employees need to be ready with 21st-century aptitudes, consisting of essential 

thinking, participation, basic reasoning, creativity, analytic thinking, and flexibility.  

Industry 4.0 that grasps the computerization in savvy industrial facilities requires 

improved limits in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The STEM 

aptitude of Workers not just development essential logical information yet additionally utilizes 

this information to plan and fabricate new products. Math energizes coherent thinking, basic 

thinking, innovative thinking, theoretical or spatial reasoning, critical thinking capacity, and even 

viable relational abilities. Moreover, mathematics is the language of research and creative work 

in applied and mechanical fields.  As the speed of social and mechanical change expands, these 

abilities will become progressively significant. So, it's essential to take considering the 

significance of mathematics for new dimensions. As a readiness to take up the difficulties of the 

IR 4.0, graduates should be presented with suitable aptitudes to guarantee their work and to stay 

working in the always-changing industry and innovation climate.  

 

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 

In this study, we will discuss the significance of mathematics through Outcome-Based Education 

(OBE) to confront the flow of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR), and we will find out the 

main challenges of implementing OBE in our country, moreover to overcome the challenges of 

OBE we will give our proposals. 



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METHODOLOGY 

The method utilized in finishing this paper is library research. This paper's information and data 

were gathered from research reports, reliable papers, journals, seminars, and electronic sources. 

To know the present and future state of the job market, we read several reports based on 

challenges of FIR, and we also collected information from annual reports over the period of 2017 

to 2020 of World Economic Forum and Price water house Coopers (PwC). We studied various 

articles, magazines, reports based on FIR and OBE to enrich our research. Furthermore, to get a 

clear idea of OBE, we take help from the template of OBE provided by the University Grants 

Commission of Bangladesh (UGC). 

 

LITERATURE REVIEW 

In the hour of globalization, conventional instruction structure is losing its importance. These 

days, everything changes quickly and interminably. More aptitudes are required to work with 

smart-making progression. The World Bank assessed in 2019 that around 57 percent of 

occupations in OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations, 77 

percent occupations in China, and 47 percent of occupations in the USA would be in danger 

because of the expansion of robotization. Another report shows that 60% in lower Education, 

48% in medium, and 19% in high-level training occupations will be unstuck by means of 

computerization (PricewaterhouseCoopers BV, n.d.).  

The fitness bundles, which administrators see as rising in prominence in the main spot up 

to 2025, join social events, for instance, fundamental thinking and examination similarly as issue 

solving, which have stayed at the most noteworthy purpose of the arrangement with year-on-year 

consistency. This year's late-emerging capacities in self-organization, for instance, dynamic 

learning, strength, stress obstruction, and versatility (The Future of Jobs Report 2020 | World 

Economic Forum, 2020). The relative importance of different skill groups: 

 
Source: The Future of Jobs Report (2020) | World Economic Forum (2020) 



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Mathematics instructors have superpowers. They have the ability to comprehend and 

esteem mathematics. What is the premise of their force? It is their arithmetic instructive and 

content information. Not exclusively would they be able to do mathematics? However, they can 

build a learning climate where their understudies create theoretical knowledge and profound 

learning. They utilize the most recent advancements in innovation to help their fight with the 

powers of obscurity and innumeracy (White, 2011). 

Numerical proficiency is fundamental to STEM schools. An office in managing 

vulnerability and information is integral to settling on proof-based choices, including moral, 

financial, and ecological measurements (Australia. Office of the Chief Scientist., 2013).  

Different reports, for example, those from the (Australia. Office of the Chief Scientist., 

2013, 2014) and the Australian Council of Learned Academies (Marginson et al., 2013) 

moreover stress the significance of all understudies having solid STEM information, aptitudes, 

and imaginative miens. 

 (English, 2015) also explained Mathematics education gives basic substance and cycles 

that associate the STEM orders, and math ought to be raised to the apexes of the STEM 

mountain reach. We should promise it stays there with its commitments saw and applauded.   

STEM training all in all, and particularly mathematics schooling, has all the earmarks of 

being the areas pre-famously fit for encouraging 21st-century abilities. Indeed, aptitudes, for 

example, basic reasoning, issue presenting, critical thinking, working together, and conveying, 

have just been on the plan of science teachers for quite a while. These aptitudes are viewed as 

instrumental in issue-focused instructional methodologies that perceive that information isn't sent 

and target supporting understudies in building mathematics (Gravemeijer et al., 2017). 

 Nakkeeran et al. (2018) stated that more aptitudes are needed to work with, quick 

creating technology along these lines to conquer the necessity, it is obligatory to shift from a 

traditional education system to Outcome-Based Education (OBE), which incorporates Program 

Outcomes (PO), Learning Outcomes (LO), and Course Outcomes (CO). 

 Tezer (2019) stated that the teaching done by utilizing mathematical modeling along with 

STEM expands the understudies' inspiration toward the exercise; they learn better by focusing 

their consideration regarding the matter, leaving a beneficial outcome for them; and the 

understudies' prosperity and perspectives toward the exercise increment. He also further added 

taking care of genuine issues later on through STEM and mathematical modeling will keep on 

assuming a significant job in giving inventive and imaginative critical thinking points of view in 

the social and monetary advancement of the nations.  

The FIR will bring a significant test for the education sector as Bangladesh elevates 

training to its understudies through instructional teaching methods. A Large scope professional 

and viable preparing program should have been incorporated with the current education system 

(Rumi et al., 2020). It refers to any learning activity in which not all answers and exchanges 

occur simultaneously but may be completed when a participant chooses (typically within a given 

time frame). Participating in an online forum or taking an online quiz are examples of 

asynchronous activities where learning occurs between two or more individuals. Teachers and 

students must use hybrid teaching to preserve social distance while continuing their educational 

pursuits. (Ahmed et al., 2020). 

 



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OUTCOME-BASED EDUCATION IN MATHEMATICS 

Mathematics plays a cardinal role in every sector of science, engineering, and technology. Fuzzy 

mathematics forms a branch of Mathematics that strongly impacts automation with Artificial 

Intelligence (AI). IR 4.0, or smart industry, is the trend towards automation related to artificial 

intelligence. Mathematical Optimization (MO), another branch of Mathematics, provides an 

analytical process for minimizing cost and maximizing profits and efficiency for industry. 

Similarly, most of the pure and applied mathematics branches have a vast application in the 

technological revolution. But our mathematics graduates are still unconscious of their 

importance in this stream of globalization. Efficient mathematics graduates will play a vital role 

in the smart industry and be able to create a new smart nation to confront the drift of smart 

technologies. Outcome-Based Education (OBE) is a smart system in which students know their 

purpose of learning clearly. At the beginning of courses, the teacher provides a smart curriculum 

consists of Program Outcome (PO), Learning Outcome (LO), and Course Outcome (CO). In 

OBE, great sharable assets, evaluations, and rubrics are intended to help learning results. OBE is 

a blend of three kinds of skill: a) down to earth: realizing how to get things done, capacity to 

decide, b) principal: understanding what you are doing and why c) intelligent: learn and adjust 

through self-reflection; apply information properly and mindfully. Students assume liability for 

their own learning and are propelled by criticism and certification of their value. It is high time to 

make our math graduates capable of the new dimension through OBE. 

 

Advantages of OBE 
 The aim of OBE is to expand the knowledge, basic reasoning capacity, and skill of the 

understudies.  

 OBE is a student-oriented system. 

 Provide a clear idea about their purpose of learning. 

 It makes understudies more mindful. 

 Increases students are thinking ability. 

 Learners are assessed on an ongoing basis. 

 Content is coordinated, and learning is important and associated with genuine 

circumstances. 

 Enhances the communication skills of students. 

 Expands student's adaptability and flexibility. 

 

Comparison of TE AND OBE 

Traditional Education (TE) is exceptionally subject to hypothetical parts of learning.  This 

approach is totally instructor-focused. This training technique is regularly reprimanded on the 

grounds that: (i) little consideration is paid to understudies if they comprehend the idea, (ii) it 

doesn't draw out the best in understudies, and (iii) it doesn't include students in learning (Hassan, 

2021). 

Outcome-Based Education implies centering and arranging everything in an instructive 

framework around what is basic for all understudies to have the option to do effectively toward 

the end of their learning encounters. This implies beginning with an away from what is 

significant for understudies to have the chance to get then sorted out educational plan, guidance, 

and appraisal to make sure this adapting eventually occurs (Spady, 1994). 



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                          OBE System VS Traditional Education System (Ashish Vyawhare, 2020) 

Source:(Outcome Based Education vs. Traditional Education | OBE System, n.d.) 

 

PRESENT SITUATION OF OBE IN BANGLADESH 
In March 2017, Bangladesh Accreditation Council (BAC) was set up and began working in May 

2020. The main purpose of BAC is to advance and guarantee quality affirmation in advanced 

Education in Bangladesh through executing capability structure and authorize the scholarly 

projects and advanced education organizations. To implement the OBE curriculum, the 

University Grants Commission of Bangladesh (UGC) has taken steps in 2018 to set up a standard 

format for the universities of Bangladesh to prepare their curriculum of existing and upcoming 

courses. After a series of conversations on the drafted OBE layout readied as a rule by a 

specialist council in 2019 and opinions got from the different specialists, at last, the formats were 

affirmed in the 157th gathering of the Full Commission of UGC on 05 February 2020. UGC sent 

the soft copy of the OBE template to all universities on 17 June 2020 and requested to update 

their curriculum on the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) format. 

 

CHALLENGES OF IMPLEMENTING OBE 

The selection of OBE brings numerous difficulties for us. We recognized some significant 

challenges to execute OBE as follows:  

 Lack of training: The idea of OBE is new for our teachers.  The main challenge of 

implementing OBE is the lack of proper training in certain aspects like the design of 

curriculum, writing of Course Outcomes (CO), Program Outcomes (PO), Assessment and 

evaluation processes. 

 Lack of proper knowledge of our students about OBE:  OBE is a student-centered 

method. To implement OBE properly, students' participation is very important. But most 

of our students are not aware of the importance of OBE, which will make it difficult to 

communicate with our students. 



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 Lack of well-equipped laboratories: Lab facilities are fundamental in OBE to upgrade 

students' understandings of theories in science, engineering, and technology education. 

Lack of well-arranged laboratories will be the major problem for us. 

 Financial instability: As a developing country, we have limited financial resources. 

Training, modern lab equipment, a smart library, organized educational institutions, 

sufficient manpower are essential for OBE, which is impossible without strong financial 

support. 

 Lack of proper research: Unfortunately, due to a lack of relevant researches, we still 

don't have a clear idea about the genuine condition of our students, teachers, and 

educational institutions 

 

PROPOSAL TO CONFRONT DIFFICULTIES OF OBE 

Adoption of OBE is the demand for new technological flow. To achieve the goal of a smart 

society through OBE we have to prepare our educational institution with some significant 

elements as follows: 

 Training: Teachers are the main driving force to implementing OBE. To prepare 

Program Outcome (PO), Course Outcome (CO), and Program Educational Objective 

(PEO) through Bloom's Taxonomy, our teachers need proper training. During training, 

teachers will be able to practice the hypothesis to enrich their idea about OBE.  

 Spontaneous participation of students: The OBE system engages students by 

continuous assessments and enhances their flexibility to adopt new ideas in a frank way. 

To ensure students' participation, teachers have to motivate them by spreading the 

advantages of OBE. Spontaneous participation of students is the most important fact in 

implementing OBE because OBE is students centered system.  

 Convenient curriculum: Convenient curriculum has a cardinal role in OBE. To 

implement OBE, it is necessary to prepare a smart curriculum with vision, mission, 

Program Educational Objectives (PEO), and Program Learning Outcomes (PLO). 

 Long-term planning: For OBE, long-term planning should be taken. At the starting of 

the program, it is essential to provide students a clear idea about their learning outcomes 

after 4/5 years. Moreover, teachers can categorize students with their creativity and skills 

by continuous assessments from the beginning and motivate students for their future life 

on the basis of their capability. In this continuous process, our graduates will be able to 

identify their worth to prepare themselves for the future. 

 Financial stability: To ensure training, modern lab equipment, smart library, organized 

educational institution, sufficient manpower, and other equipment of smart Education, we 

need to make an effort to increase our financial sources. 

 Industrial collaboration: Our educational institution should make more collaborate with 

national and international industries to know their smart industrial requirements to make 

our generation ready for new flow through OBE. 

 Relevant Research: More research with a larger sample should be performed to get a 

deeper insight into developing our education system. Furthermore, relevant research will 

help us to bridge the gap between education systems and industrial needs.  

 Flexibility to adopt new ideas: To cope with the latest technological flow, our 

curriculum and education system should be flexible. After every certain period, it should 

be revised to make it convenient for our students to prepare them for the new flow 

 



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RESEARCH FINDINGS 

 The flow of FIR will bring authentic challenges for developed and developing countries. 

Due to advanced technologies and skilled human resources, developed nations will face 

less risk than developing nations. As a developing country, we have many difficulties, but 

the unskilled human resource is one of the major problems for us. To cope up with the 

new flow, our country needs imaginative, skilled, adaptable, creative, enterprising 

alumni who can face the difficulties of the present changing workplace. 

 The smart technological flow needs the efficiency of STEM, especially mathematical 

knowledge. Math expands intelligible reasoning, essential reasoning, creative reasoning, 

hypothetical or spatial thinking, basic reasoning limit, and even feasible social 

capacities, and these are the most important component of the fitness bundle for the 

smart industry. Every student from different subjects or fields needs basic mathematics 

skills, and it's clear that skilled mathematics educators can help make a skilled nation 

confront the new technological flow. In addition, Mathematics has huge applications in 

engineering, science, and technology, and we know it is the language of technology. So 

Mathematic is the platform to the following modern transformation. Due to a lack of 

proper guidance, most of our mathematics students are still oblivious to the significance 

of mathematical knowledge.  

 It's a convenient time to utilize the advantages of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) to 

make our graduates ready for the new technological world. OBE is learners centered 

system. It gives students a clear idea about their learning purpose by providing a smart 

curriculum consists of Course Outcome (CO), Program outcome (PO), Learning 

Outcome (LO), and it helps to make students more conscious about their aim. In this 

smart teaching system, learners are assessed on an ongoing basis through Bloom's 

taxonomy, which increases students thinking ability, communication skills, adaptability, 

and flexibility. 

  UGC's template of OBE will help bridge the gap between the higher education system 

and industrial needs. Most of the universities of Bangladesh already take the initiative to 

update their curriculum with the template of OBE given by UGC. But adoption of OBE 

brings many challenges for us.  To confront the challenges of OBE, we need to prepare 

our higher education sector with many fundamental components such as training, 

financial stability, relevant research, flexibility, organized laboratory, long-term planning, 

and most importantly, we have to ensure students' spontaneous participation. 

 

CONCLUSION 

Smart technologies will drop a strong impact on many aspects of life, especially the education 

system. Mathematics is the language of a new technological dimension. But unfortunately, our 

graduates are not properly conscious of their role in the present flow of smart technologies. The 

smart education system can give them appropriate direction to understand their importance for 

our country to face the drift of FIR. In this paper, we discussed the significance of skilled 

graduates through OBE. We also find out some challenges of implementing OBE and give some 

proposals to overcome them. Finally, the study suggests that to confront the flow of FIR, we 

need more research work in our country. We should take the proper initiative to face the 

challenges of implementing OBE in our education system. 

 

 



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