As part of government’s move to digitalise country’s education system, the government is going to purchase more digital equipment to be distributed in multimedia classrooms for all primary schools. The government already purchased and distributed some 53,689 laptops and some 22,000 multimedia projectors for primary schools in this regard. Currently, the process to buy another 26,000 multimedia projectors, 26,000 laptops and 26,000 sound systems is under way.
Experts said that ICT-based digital learning and multimedia classrooms have opened up a new dimension in the teaching as well as learning systems of educational institutions. They also said that this digital learning from the primary school would help students to understand their lessons easily, making classes more interesting and attractive.
Md Akram al-Hossain, Secretary of The Ministry of Primary and Mass Education told Bangladesh post, “We are working on bringing digitalized classrooms to all government primary schools so that students get the opportunity to access the digital education system like developed country.” He also said, “Multimedia classrooms have already been introduced in 12,000 government primary schools out of the 65,000. The process to purchase additional 26,000 multimedia projectors, 26,000 laptops and 26,000 sound systems is under way. We will buy these equipment under a project of LGRD. We are preparing the draft before ECNEC. After approved in the ECNEC meeting, we will complete this project by June 2020.”
About the primary school where electricity is not available, the secretary said, “We will introduce solar panel in those primary schools so that it will not create any problem to use multimedia projectors. We will also give new laptops where it went out of order.” DG of Primary Education Directorate Dr Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal said, “Children find lessons more interesting in multimedia classrooms, as they can understand their lessons in a more interesting manner. We need quality content to make ICT-based education more effective and interactive to the students.”
Underscoring the need for standard primary education in nation building, the secretary said that teachers at the primary schools are given two-weeks of training so that they can develop quality contents for their students. Pointing out to some infrastructural drawbacks, he also said schools in relatively remote areas would require solar power for digital classrooms and we have taken necessary steps to buy solar panel.
"Our success in primary education, particularly regarding increasing student enrolment, has been praised internationally. We are now concentrating on our focus on improving the quality of primary education," the official said, adding that multimedia classrooms were among the best methods to ensure quality education.
In 2012, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had launched multimedia classrooms in 1,000 schools throughout the country as a part of a massive digitisation campaign in the education sector. Breaking the widespread myth about ICT in education, which suggests they require the setting up of expensive computer labs to provide basic computer literacy and technical knowledge, the government introduced multimedia classrooms using one laptop with an internet connection and a multimedia projector per classroom, Mass and Primary Education Ministry sources said.
Asked about the digitalised education system in primary schools, Educationalist Emdadul Haque told Bangladesh Post, “Education is the key to build a developed country beginning from rural villages by ensuring quality primary education for all children using digitised information and communication technologies. Increasing the use of interesting and child-friendly educational ICT materials, innovative reading and storytelling activities, and the practice of learning from internet would help significantly in ensuring capability in literary skills.”
Emdadul Haque, also the professor of University of Chittagong said that modern, ICT-based multimedia classrooms have opened up a new dimension in the teaching and learning systems of educational institutions. Digital content in multimedia classrooms has emerged as a tool for the students to come out of memorisation based knowledge, he added. The Directorate of Primary Education along with different organisations and development partners is working to promote ICT-based education at the primary level, aiming to improve foundation skills.