Application areas of ICT
THE whole world is now a village through the effective use of ICT. In most developing countries, access to ICT based information is very limited, but we will have to have tried to implement it in our country for our next generation.
There are three main types of ICT systems -- Information system that focuses on managing data and information, Control system a system that controls machines. It uses inputs, processes the input, and provides output. Third is the Communication system, which deals with transfer of data from one place to another.
Organising and processing the data of an organisation can provide useful information. These can be communicated for effective use and decision making.
Then, there is the question of information flow, access, storage, shared resources, and proper use of information in real time for decision-making. In order to provide information at a very high speed at any time and at any place, we need a communication network and media. These are internet, telephone, mobile phone, TV, radio and office automation systems such as word-processing, fax, audio conferencing, video conferencing, computer conferencing, multimedia, etc, through the use of networks of satellite and fiber optics.
The internet now enables broadcasts from radio and TV stations to be "time shifted" by the users, who watch or listen to the programs whenever they want to. Mobile phone, TV, broad-band internet access, and digital broadcasting can be used in the e-community centre. Information about cyclones, weather, health, business, education, and jobs should be provided from an e-community centre based on ICT. News services and the mass media are making themselves available so that people can access them when they want and wherever they are.
So, we will have to build information and knowledge based e-community centers using the above- mentioned technologies. The socio-economic conditions of many developing countries have been improving very quickly through application of modern ICT, and through the creation of various categories of skills in this field. Building information and knowledge based systems in all ministries and in the private sector of Bangladesh is essential for socio-economic development.
I hope that the caretaker government will take necessary steps to implement ICT in different sectors to make a happy and prosperous country.
Data and information of different sectors in all ministries may be processed/stored/exchanged using e-government and e-governance based on ICT. Due to Cyclone Sidr many lives (of both people and domestic animals) were lost, along with damage to crops, houses, trees, and infrastructure in the south-east region of Bangladesh. The loss in lives would have been many times more if warning signals had not been not received in time through ICT based systems.
Prime areas for implementation of ICT are education, health, agriculture, commerce and industry and family planning. First priority should be given to the Election Commission for making acceptable voter list and holding national election based on ICT system.
One of the application areas of ICT is poverty elimination of the people in rural areas by providing necessary information about work, business, selling of goods, providing knowledge about prices and availability of daily necessary items for survival, heath care, food, shelter, education etc.
Most of the farmers, fishermen and businessmen need to borrow money for improving their professional works. They need proper information of the organisations that can provide loans with low interest rate and less hassle.
In the agricultural sector, cultivators, women/housewives, and education workers in rural areas need proper information and guidelines about their works. It is possible to provide them information and training through an e-community centre.
It is not possible for poor people to access the information using modern communication technology due to lack of information and infrastructure available in rural areas. It is necessary to setup an e-community center in each village so that people can access various information and share global resources.
Many people in rural and urban areas are facing problems due to lack of proper information and guidelines about their daily essential activities and requirements of life. E-community centers can play a vital important role by providing reliable and fast information for the people in time and at any place.
Another major application of ICT based systems is outsourcing work. Many developed companies run their organisations by using people situated in different countries in the world with less payment. Many qualified persons in ICT field in Bangladesh can earn $ 8/10 thousand per month, with a microcomputer and a broadband high-speed internet connection.
ICT based tele-centers have been set up in many developing countries in Asia and Africa. Nowadays, there is an information super-highway, and we need to link up with it from all parts of the country.
There is a plan to set up 40,000 telecenters, by 2011, for the poor and rural people to access necessary information in real time. One of the earliest attempts in Bangladesh to set up a tele-center was made by Grameen phone in October 1999. Cellular phone based information services provided by "mobile phone ladies," pioneered by Grameen Telecom, earned international recognition.
The government is planning to introduce e-government and e-governance through ICT. Nowadays, there are digital markets for on-line shopping. In our country, the major foreign exchange earners are the garments and textile sectors. We need to be more serious in building reliable information and knowledge based system to access information in these sectors.
I am pleased to know that government is making voter/national ID card, and people can use that card for many purposes. I wrote about the design and implementation tools and techniques of national ID card, voter list and voting system through the use of ICT in Ajker Kagoj on 12/02/2007 and 25/02/2007, and Jugantor on 25/02/2007. It is essential to set up ICT nationwide to get proper benefit of the national ID card.
If the government makes proper plan and policy to implement ICT based activities in the next five years then we will need nearly 10,000 ICT workers of all categories per year. So initiative taken by educational institutions to teach ICT depends on demand. We have come to know that India needs 50,000 ICT workers per year.
They have made a long term programme to train a huge number of people who would be able to implement ICT based activities in almost all sectors. India has been providing internet connection/ access to 40,000 schools from this year, with a view to train children on ICT.
Another important application area of ICT is on-line education system for aged people, house- wives, people who did not have the opportunity of education in time, and people who want to build career in new fields. In that system students will attend on-line virtual classes when they remain free. So, an on-line learning system needs to prepare lectures based on multimedia system. One teacher can teach a very large number of students on-line, and they can access lectures at any time from any place.
Examinations must be held on-line, and examinees will answer questions within a fixed time. This on-line system is very popular all over the world. GRE and TOEFL examinations are the best examples of on-line exam systems. All people appreciate this system, and real learners can be identified through an on-line exam system. Printing materials, lectures in CDs, and TV and radio are OK for distance learning, but without on-line exam systems it is difficult to examine the learners.
In order to develop, implement and efficiently use ICT based activities, proper skills and manpower must be produced to build information and knowledge based system. Skilled workers are needed to set up a communication network and use the technology (both hardware and software), along with providing maintenance and servicing. Unfortunately, we don't have sufficient trained manpower to look after maintenance and servicing of the equipment/ machineries required for ICT.
Nowadays, in most of the technical/technological aspects we depend on foreign experts. They don't want to transfer the technology so easily. It should be the policy of government to implement modern ICT in all sectors by joint foreign collaboration so that our young people can be directly involved in technology.
So, ICT education must be given from school level up to university level. We need different categories of skilled persons for implementing ICT in all sectors and for all people by 2020.
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