The Ministry of Education is planning to introduce online education for all students of secondary and higher level in addition to its remote learning programme through government-run television.
In order to ensure online education for all students, the ministry moved to provide internet facilities for free or at a low cost for educational activities and the poor students with digital devices.
“I will ask the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to provide the students with internet services for free or at a lower cost. The free internet will only be used for academic activities,” Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni told a webinar on Saturday.
Education Reporters Association of Bangladesh organised the webinar titled “Challenges in education from novel coronavirus and what needs to be done”.
Citing a crisis brings possibilities, Dipu Moni said, they would maximise the possibilities and move forward with other’s cooperation.
“We cannot put millions of students and their families at risk as educational institutions have been closed due to virus concern,” she said.
“However, we have planned to compensate [the institutions] for the losses occurred due to the closure,” said Dipu Moni informing that is not possible to make a “definite plan”.
The ministry is also considering on how to provide internet facility at a nominal price and working to reach out to the students through community radio.
The Minister said, “The classes airing on the Sangsad TV have reached about 90 percent of the students via different platforms.
“For rest of 10 percent, we will introduce a toll-free hotline number soon to help them avail lessons directly from the teachers,” she added
Explaining the initiative, Secondary and Higher Education Secretary Mahbub Hossain told Bangladesh Post that they have conducted a survey recently.
“Some 85 to 90 percent of students have access to mobile device. So, we have taken an initiative on how to provide the rest of them with devices,” he added.
“We are planning on digital learning and how and in which ways we can engage cent percent students in the process. The Ministry is considering all pros and cons of digital education so that the new system sustains in the post-Covid-19 period,” said Hossain.
Rasheda K Chowdhury, Executive Director of Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE), urged the government to give incentives to avail internet services for all saying “educational loss of a generation cannot be recovered.”
She demanded the government should withdraw the newly-imposed supplementary duty on mobile phone services so that students can avail internet services with less financial burden.
Emeritus Professor Manzoor Ahmed of BRAC University proposed cancelling the Primary Education Completion Examination and Junior School Certificate and equivalent exams for the current academic year.
As the educational institutions remain closed since March 17 due to the coronavirus, the government started airing remote education progamme on Sangsad Television for primary level on March 29 and secondary level on April 7.
