106 textbooks available online

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina launches e-book at the Prime Minister's Office in the city yesterday. Photo: PID

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged the affluent people to spend a part of their money on providing computer, laptop, multimedia and other digital equipment for educational institutions in their respective villages.
Hasina also asked the teachers and other concerned to present teachings to student as a matter of entertainment, not as a matter of panic.
She stated this while addressing the inaugural function of launching of e-book at the Prime Minister's Office yesterday.
The e-book consists of online version of textbooks of the primary and secondary levels.
Access to Information (A2I) Project of the PM's Office and the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) jointly transformed 33 primary level and 73 secondary level textbooks into e-books in collaboration with the UNDP.
Textbooks will now be available on its website (http:// www.ebook.gov.bd). All including students, teachers, parents, guardians and researchers can now enter the website and read the textbooks free of cost.
Besides, the huge population in the country, some one crore expatriate Bangladeshis living in different countries will be benefited from the e-books as they would no longer have to depend on printed version of the textbooks.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, Minister for Primary and Mass Education Dr Afsarul Amin and chairman of National Curriculum and Text Book Board Prof Md Mostafa Kamaluddin also spoke at the function.
A2I project director Nazrul Islam Khan presented pros and cons of the e-book at the function.
The PM said the government has taken plan to set up one multi media-equipped classroom in 20,500 secondary schools and madrasas. She said digital subject matters are also being made to use in multi-media class rooms.
Hasina said very soon the government is going to introduce low cost laptops at Tk 12,000, Tk 15,000 and Tk 20,000.
She said the government is working to increase the use of technology in classrooms to present difficult topics in easier methods to the students. “Technology will ease the teaching method and make education entertaining,” she remarked.
The PM said use of multimedia and audio-visual equipment has to be increased in classrooms. She was critical of parents as they nowadays put unnecessary pressure on their children to do best results in the examinations.
“Nowadays competition has gone among parents, not remains among students,” she said.
Hasina said by putting pressure on children, parents in fact, are causing sufferings to children. “Parents must understand every child will not have same talent or capacity and all children will not have same talent in same area,” she said.
She also put emphasis on students' involvement in sports apart from only studying for their balanced growth.
Hasina reiterated her directive to the ministries concerned to introduce text curriculum in line with the age and capacity of learning of the kids.
“They (children) have to read so many books at their budding stage. Text curriculum should prepared in such a way so children can read with comfort,” she said.
Hasina said e-book will be a big boost to provide textbooks for the children of expatriate Bangladeshis. She said the government wants to set up Bangla medium schools at every place where Bangladeshis live in large number.
“The e-book will provide textbooks for every child of Bangladeshi expatriate across the world,” she said.
The PM said it will take time to reach online versions of the textbooks to every citizen as a huge number of people still don't have access to computer and internet.
She said the government has set up information and service centres at 4,501 union parishads.
“When we will attain economic emancipation of all the people, they will enjoy the fruits of e-book and digital services,” she said.