Fiber optical high speed internet connectivity will be added to 170,000 primary and secondary schools in the country by 2030. These activities will be implemented under the Digital Connectivity Project under the ICT Department.
Various activities including Girls in ICT Program, Job Opportunity and Empowerment have been undertaken to ensure that no one lags behind in technology.
State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak made the remarks while virtually speaking as the chief guest at an inauguration program on ‘Girls in Tech Day Bangladesh 2021’ organised by the Asia and the Pacific Regional Office of the International Telecommunication Union on Tuesday.
The state minister said, “Some 50,000 entrepreneurs have been created through the WiFi program in collaboration with the United Nations (UN). A total of 4,000 women have been trained to become entrepreneurs from freelancer. In addition, about 7,000 women have been trained as IT service providers and women's call center agents”.
Palak said "Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Union Digital Center in 2010 to implement a bottom-up approach to bring public-private and commercial information and services to the doorsteps of the people. At present, more than 15,000 entrepreneurs are working in more than 7,500 digital centers. Some 50 percent of them are women. More than 300 services are being provided through the centers. More than 6 million service recipients are receiving services through digital centers every month."
Referring to ‘Muktapath’ as the largest e-learning platform in Bengali language, the state minister said that there is an opportunity to take general education, technical and vocational education and lifelong learning online.
Palak said the ICT department is working closely with the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education to include coding education at the primary level from next year. Another 35,000 modern digital computer labs will be set up in the country to make the present and next generation efficient.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific regional director Atsuko Okuda, and Anju Mangal, Regional Head of the Asia and Pacific Alliance for Internet World Wide Foundation, among others, spoke on the occasion.