Gateway to rural development
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is not only an integral component of modern civilisation but also a power that helps our dreams come true. Remarkable improvement in ICT has influenced a broad spectrum of human activities and inspired revolutionary changes in socio-economic arena.
Many countries have embarked on a new era of economic development by widespread implementation of ICT in their societies. Unfortunately, Bangladesh still lags far behind in aligning itself with this technological revolution due to her antiquated approach to the technology.
A lack of good planning has obstructed the ICT opportunities in Bangladesh. Moreover, the government has not done enough to eliminate the negative factors that put up roadblocks to our transforming into a hi-tech society.
Next-door India has emerged as a tech guru in the region due to her immense contribution towards ICT. New Delhi has taken several revolutionary steps and maintains cutting edge strategies to create a conducive ICT atmosphere in a bid to keep the socio-economic advancement going. India has become a unique platform for hardware manufacturers, software companies and outsourcing activities.
Bangladesh's ICT segment is not promising like that of India. But then no catalytic initiatives have been taken till now to improve the dim environment. Moreover, poor operational tactics for fibre optic network wipe out the scope for data-incentive activities.
Despite the anomalies and technical glitches, several scopes are still open to Bangladesh to achieve sustainable socio-economic development through ICT. A close cooperation between government and private stakeholders is mandatory to adopt and implement a dynamic action plan.
At this moment Bangladesh requires a step-by-step approach. The first imperative should be the enhancement of technical capacity of the government. Other schemes include disseminating telecommunications facilities to the people, producing skilled manpower, nourishing local IT industry and bringing hi-tech solution to disaster management etc.
The government should integrate IT into its operation in order to streamline different critical processes, thus serving the citizens better. In this regard, e-government is considered as a pragmatic solution which in practice means the virtual representation of government activities.
Through this process the government could reduce corruption, ensure transparency and provide best quality service to all citizens. As e-government ensures transparency, it ultimately increases the government's revenue earnings. For instance, if people at large have the scope for hassle-free bill payment and monetary transaction, their contribution to national economy will grow.
In order to establish a total e-government solution, all government organisations need to build up a state-of-the-art infrastructure in their respective part. Furthermore, key issues such as training up officials and ensuring interoperability need more emphasis for optimum result.
E-governance and Development Cluster initiative of UNDP (United Nations Development Program) presently supports the Bangladesh government to facilitate e-government in this country. In association with UNDP, an e-government cell has been created at the Chief Adviser's Office with an eye to coordinating and providing technical assistance to on-going and future e-governance activities. This cell is also working on the EGIF (E-government Interoperability Framework) programme to ensure compatibility between different government organisations.
In order to narrow the digital divide, the Cluster initiative has also extended its function to guarantee an uninterrupted information flow through community based e-centres (CeCs). CeCs could act as information hubs that in effect will provide e-services to the unprivileged communities in rural areas.
Robust telecommunications infrastructure is integral to spreading voice and data services across the country. Currently several private telecoms service providers such as Grameen Telecom, Sheba Telecom and BRTA (Bangladesh Rural Telecom Authority) have started their operation in rural areas.
Grameen Telecom, a sister concern of Grameen Bank, uses GrameenPhone's existing GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) network to provide phone service among the members of Grameen Bank. Sheba Telecom and BRTA use WLL (Wireless Local Loop) system to provide phone facilities in rural areas. These rural phone services hold out hopes of empowering women, originating financial activities and eliminating transport hassle.
Nowadays the concept of telecentre has had the public attention due to its one-stop service in rural areas. A telecentre provides data and phone services, basic printing, photocopy and digital photography facilities and conducts some training programmes. Telecentres have also created awareness, paving the way for accessing right information.
Right information, for instance, is mandatory for farmers to avoid price manipulation. In addition, students and other professionals also require information for their activities. Telecentres thus can contribute to building a unique village economy. Bangladesh Telecentre Network (BTN), an apex body of telecentre providers, plans to install nearly 40,000 telecentres throughout the country by 2011.
Recently some organisations --for example Amader Gram and UNDP's Sustainable Development Networking Programme -- operate telemedicine services in rural areas. This is a scheme through which patient and doctor interact with each other through online chatting or videoconferencing. This opens up a unique opportunity for rural people to explain their health conditions without traveling to a distant location.
Community radio can also play a role in sharing information about daily life among the rural people. This creates awareness of burning issues such as AIDS, literacy etc. It also helps people become self-motivated and aware of their rights. Bangladesh NGO Network for Radio Communications (BNNRC) is working in this area to popularise the community radio.
Bangladesh's big population is often blamed for the vicious cycle of poverty. But this population is also a good opportunity for us to create skilled manpower and export them to the global market. We could turn our people into resources by giving them proper training. We cannot go far if we continue to depend on unskilled or semi-skilled manpower in this era of cut-throat market competition. Moreover, a skilled person can earn more and is capable of creating their own domain of economic activities. It has a profound impact on the country's economic scenario.
Today many NGOs, academic institutions and voluntary organisations have come up with a host of programmes to train people. Women in Technology is a pilot project sponsored by USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and administered by Institute of International Education through a grant from the dot-GOV programme of Internews Network. The programme has provided women with scholarships to attend the Cisco Networking Academy Program (CNAP), a comprehensive global training programme that teaches students to design, build and maintain computer networks and prepare them for industry-standard certification.
Integration of ICT into traditional education is a useful solution to enhance the quality of both teachers and students. Brac incorporated ICT in its rural education scheme to modernise teaching methods and nurture the talents in the unprivileged communities. Brac has already established 1,480 'Ganokendra' where rural people get library, internet and other facilities.
The NGO is now trying to implement its CAL (Computer Aided Learning) programme, which aims at digitalising the secondary-school textbooks in an interactive way and integrating ICT in teaching-learning scenario.
Amader Gram has come forward to develop digital maps of rural areas which will help individuals and organisations to locate the exact place of their development activities.
Many companies in Bangladesh still depend on overseas firms for their software solution, draining out huge money from the country. But if they invest in local software industry, product quality will increase.
Presently some organisations are working on open source platform and have already come up with many innovative solutions including Bangla version of selected Linux distributions, open-office and others. The government should consider this creativity and provide proper assistance for them.
ICT also plays a substantial role in upgrading disaster management tactics. The tsunami warning system is a good example where ICT is utilised to provide almost real-time information to avoid catastrophic consequences. Countries like Bangladesh can easily reduce casualties by establishing an ICT-based forecasting system to deliver information on flash flood, earthquake, draught and other natural calamities.
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