Bringing educational institutions under the internet coverage is no longer a lofty ambition even for a country like Bangladesh. The telecommunications and information technology minister has been on record saying that work is in progress now to translate this vision into a reality. The minister has not mentioned any deadline for the purpose but he has referred to the country's entry into the digital era and the on-going digitisation process. Sure enough, education should be the number one candidate for enjoying the infrastructural facilities. Digitisation of administration and all kinds of public services will prove simply futile if a section of the people do not know how to take advantage of the system. At this stage of literacy or education level, society is ill prepared for all-round digitisation. The next generation cannot be left digitally illiterate.
So, the need is to prepare the nation for a fully digitised system of administration and services that the people are entitled to. Some secondary schools have already got computers and internet connections. But primary schools are yet to receive such facilities. The reasons are not far to seek. When some of the secondary schools having access to the internet cannot make good use of the gadgets because there are no qualified teachers to use the facility or power is available only sparingly, the question of making such facilities useful in primary schools is out of question. The country has to overcome challenges coming from two fronts - paucity of qualified computer teachers and technicians and load-shedding of power. In rural areas, uninterrupted power supply is yet to happen. If power outage repeatedly disrupts computer classes, the presence of facilities will not count much.
Clearly, there is a need to produce a crop of mid- and low-level computer teachers who can teach students not only at the secondary school level but also at the primary level. The entire gamut of education is expected to go through a radical transformation and the young learners will have to be familiar with the device from an early age. That they will have personal computers or laptops is not feasible but in schools they will learn at least the basic operating system and how to browse some of the sites to get required information. What goes in favour of the young ones is that they acquire some of the computing and device-handling skills better than their elders.
Digitisation of the country will largely depend on the young generation's access to the information technology. If they are well prepared for accepting the devices well and know how to make good use of those for advancement of their knowledge and skill, they will ensure that the country too will benefit from their service. Development of apps to make life of common people easier can give them more time to spend creatively or for gainful purposes. If techno-savvy young people come out from the grass-roots level of society, they will be able to better appreciate the needs, hopes and aspiration of the common mass.
