Dedicated helpline for students in the offing
The government has started working on introducing a toll-free hotline for students so they can get assistance from teachers over phone.
The ministries of education; primary and mass education; and posts, telecommunications and information technology are jointly working to introduce the hotline -- 3336 -- as soon as possible.
They took the initiative to minimise the education loss incurred by students as schools remain closed due to coronavirus pandemic, and many fear that it might extend for several more months.
Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education Director General Prof Syed Md Golam Faruk said if a student contacts the hotline, they will be instantly connected with teachers and the latter will give answers to any kind of questions via the hotline.
"Working hours of the hotline are yet to be finalised," said Faruk, adding, "We will launch the hotline soon."
The government started televised lectures for students amid the shutdown, while many schools on their own initiative also started online classes.
Officials said they have taken the initiatives for about 3.5 crore students of primary and secondary schools, as many of them still remain out of the purview any kind of education in absence of televisions and electronic devices.
"We are working on introducing the toll-free hotline 3336. About 2,500 teachers have already been connected," said State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak. "The government has started TV education; there is also online education but many students do not have access to those. We came up with the initiative to help them," he said.
All educational institutions in the country have remained closed since March 17 due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The government has now extended the closure till June 15 to stem the virus spread.
On April 27, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said educational institutions might remain closed until September if the situation does not improve.
The government started TV education through Sangsad TV for secondary students on March 29, for primary students on April 7, and for technical and madrassa students on April 19, so that students can make up for some of the losses due to closure of schools.
Many educationists and guardians said it was only partially fulfilling the objective, as about a half of the country's people -- many of them underprivileged -- do not have access to TV sets.
The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey-2019 of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics shows that 50 percent households of the country do not have television sets.
Many city-based schools started online education. But maximum schools in rural areas are yet to begin the remote class system due their students' unavailability of internet and device access.
The survey also said 37.6 percent of households have access to internet by any device from home. It also found 5.6 percent of households have a computer or tablet.
Telecom insiders said of the total mobile users, 30 percent are using smartphones and there are a total of 10 crore SIM cards.
"We have seen that many students remain out of education in absence of TV sets. So the toll free hotline will be able to connect all into education service," said Directorate of Primary Education Director General Md Fasiullah.