Innovative Strategies for Accelerated Human Resources Development in South Asia

Information and Communication Technology for Education: Special Focus on Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka

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• Publisher: Asian Development Bank
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9789292610326
• eBook ISBN: 9789292610333
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Technology

Information and communication technology (ICT) has the potential to revolutionize education equity, quality, and efficiency. South Asia's governments have recognized this potential and invested in ICT-focused education initiatives and projects. While these efforts helped to introduce ICT-enabled teaching and learning practices, they may not be sufficient for widespread sustainable adoption within their countries. The stage of implementation and impact of investments also vary significantly from country to country in South Asia. This paper examines the existing state and gaps of ICT in education of three South Asian countries---Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka---and suggests strategies to address these gaps.

APPENDIX 1: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION IN BANGLADESH

A. Background

1. Current Situation of Information and Communication Technology in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has a countrywide telecommunications backbone network, both optical fiber and wireless. The mobile phone operators, Bangladesh Telecommunications, Bangladesh Railway, the public switched telephone network, and nationwide telecommunication transmission network operators are the key players in the telecom sector. According to the technical data available on the Bangladesh Telecommunications website, all districts, 478 upazilas (subdistricts), and 108 union parishads of the country are now connected through a fiber network.¹

In addition to the mobile operators, two wireless broadband (WiMax) providers are also rolling out their backbone or shared network infrastructure from other operators. To avoid the unnecessary duplication of fiber backbone and other telecom infrastructure and to help create a cost-effective system, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has issued Infrastructure Sharing Guidelines, and the operators are now sharing their passive infrastructure and leasing out spare capacity to other operators. Bangladesh has already moved from internet protocol version 4 (IPv4) to IPv6.

In addition to the state-owned South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe (SEA-MEWE)-4 undersea cable, the installation of a second undersea cable, SEA-ME-WE-5, by the private sector is in the process. Although initially expected to be completed by 2014, the installation will be delayed by 1 year. The service providers of the consortium, mainly SingTel and China Telecom, are handling two cables, SEA-ME-WE-5 and Asia-Africa-Europe (AAE)-1, at the same time. This has caused the delay in the installation of the former.

In terms of e-readiness, Bangladesh is significantly lagging behind the global leader, albeit the situation has been improving over time according to United Nations e-Government Readiness Surveys.² In 2005, Bangladesh ranked 162th globally—last among the South Asian countries—in terms of e-readiness. In 2012, it ranked 150th globally and 4th among the seven South Asian countries.

The population of people with land phones in Bangladesh doubled from 2000 to 2011, increasing from 0.5 million to about 1.0 million. During the same period, the number of mobile phone users has increased from 0.3 million to about 84.4 million. The number of people using wired internet services has increased from 0.06 million in 2000 to about 1.20 million in 2011. The percentage of the population using the internet, both wired and non-wired, has increased at a notably faster rate since 2006 (Figure A1.1). In 2011, 5% of the country’s population used the internet. The share was only 0.07% in 2000.

Figure A1.1: Internet Users as Percentage of Total Population in Bangladesh, 2000–2011

Source: World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database.

According to the latest information provided by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, the number of mobile subscribers has crossed the 100 million mark, reaching about 103 million in May 2013. The subscriber base was about 90 million in April 2012, when the mobile penetration was 61.8%. With the present subscriber base, mobile penetration has increased to 66.4%.³

Although internet penetration has been increasing rapidly in Bangladesh, a clear digital divide is observed in terms of access to information and communication technology (ICT) by different groups. Three distinct groups can be identified on the basis of access to ICT in Bangladesh:

(i) ICT natives—urban students belonging to high-income groups;

(ii) ICT immigrants—academics, professionals, and university students; and

(iii) ICT-alienated groups—underserved children, especially those living in the rural areas with no knowledge about ICT.

The 2005 and 2010 Household Expenditure and Income Surveys, a nationally representative survey conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, indicate that access to the internet significantly varies across households, regions, and income groups. Use of landline phones slightly declined from 2005 and 2010, while use of mobile phones significantly increased during the same period, from 11.3% of total households in 2005 to 63.7% in 2011.However, the rural–urban gap in use of phone and computers increased during the same period.

Figure A1.2 shows Lorenz-type curves for national, urban, and rural households with a computer. The vertical axis shows the cumulative percentage share of households with a computer, and the horizontal axis shows cumulative distribution of households by different income groups. About half of rural households with a computer have a monthly income of more than Tk12,500. However, half of urban households with a computer have a monthly income of more than Tk20,000.

Figure A1.2: Households with Computer, by Income

Source: Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2010, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.

To avoid further increase of the digital divide, the Government of Bangladesh has established union information and service centers in 4,516 of the country’s 4,545 union parishads. About 2,773 of these centers provide mobile banking service and 2,064 provide life insurance services. People from all strata of society have access to these centers and seek advice from fellow members, the number of which has already exceeded 13,500.⁴ To provide different services in a timely, efficient, and cost-effective manner, the government has introduced an e-service center in each district office. The government has also introduced an electronic system so that people can collect digitized copies of land-related records and documents. To introduce a one-stop service center where one can get all services provided by public offices at different levels, the government has piloted a national e-service system in 240 public offices in Jessore, one of the 64 districts of the country.

When compared with the other South Asian countries, Bangladesh appears to have the second-highest cost of internet in the region. On average, the monthly internet cost in Bangladesh is about five times higher than Sri Lanka, and three times higher than Nepal. The only South Asian country where internet costs more than Bangladesh is the Maldives. Although a number of private providers are operating in Bangladesh, competition among them has so far failed to reduce the cost of internet service, probably indicating the existence of a cartel among them.

2. Information and Communication Technology Policies and Plans in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is striving to create an environment to ensure access to ICT by people from all strata of society. In its National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction 2009, ICT was given due importance as a key development enabler and poverty alleviator. With the Digital Bangladesh platform of the current government, the country has reinvigorated its ICT-related activities. Historically, the government has supported initiatives like the National ICT Task Force headed by the Prime Minister. There are also institutional structures and support for ICT development, including the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Bangladesh Computer Council, and industry associations such as the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services and Bangladesh Computer Samity.

A revised national ICT policy was formulated and accepted in 2009. This provides a road map for the development of ICT in the country. Moreover, a set of “ICT for development” targets developed by the World Summit on the Information Society for building an inclusive information society was endorsed by Bangladesh. The National ICT Policy 2009 is structured as a hierarchical pyramid with a single vision, 10 broad objectives, 56 strategic themes, and 306 action themes. The vision and objectives are aligned with the general national goals, while the strategic themes are areas within the broad objectives that can promote the use of ICT.

The vision of the National ICT Policy 2009 is to expand and diversify the use of ICT to establish a transparent, responsive, and accountable government; develop skilled human resources; enhance social equity; ensure cost-effective delivery of citizen services through public–private partnerships; and support the national goal of becoming a middle-income country by 2021 and joining the ranks of developed countries within 30 years. Given the growing digital divide across regions and income groups, the ICT Policy 2009 also focused on striking the right balance between equity and growth in the implementation plan.

The country’s Sixth Five-Year plan incorporated some specific targets to implement the digital road map of the country, including:

• establishment of a high-technology park, information technology (IT) and biotechnology incubator, IT village and software park, and community e-center in suitable locations of the country;

• establishment of unique educational and recreational facilities, such as a tilted dome planetarium and digital pavilion for making people conscious of science and ICT;

• strengthening regional and subregional cooperation with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries and with other science and ICT organizations for better cooperation and bilateral relations;

• training of scientists, technologists, and ICT personnel in selected fields at postgraduate levels in centers of excellence at home and abroad on a massive scale; and

• linking the remuneration packages for scientists, technologists, and ICT experts to their individual productivity and potential.⁵

3. Policy Focus on the Use of Information and Communication Technology in Education

a. Education Policy 2010

The government, with its newly formulated Education Policy 2010, is contemplating building an education system that develops students as fit candidates to survive and thrive in the 21st century and a framework of educational governance that ensures this. The main visions of the new education policy are:

(i) to ensure a productive 21st-century ready workforce;

(ii) to reform curriculum, pedagogy, and teacher’s capacity building to ensure education for all;

(iii) to ensure transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness at all levels of educational administration; and

(iv) to secure accountability and involve real stakeholders in policy making.

The National Education Policy 2010 emphasizes the use of ICT to improve the quality of education. The government plans to make ICT a compulsory subject at the secondary level by 2013 and at the primary level by 2021. Out of 306 action items of ICT Policy 2009, 53 focus on human resource development. The National Strategy for Accelerated Poverty Reduction also recognizes the need to improve the country’s knowledge base using education, training, and research, and emphasizes the importance of ICT as an invaluable enabler toward achieving this objective.

To accomplish the envisioned goal in the National Education Policy 2010, the government chalked out a plan identifying the following strategic priorities:

(i) promotion of ICT-enabled teaching and learning,

(ii) promotion of professional development of teachers using ICT,

(iii) promotion of ICT literacy for students,

(iv) promotion of ICT-enabled education-related citizen services, and

(v) use of ICT in education administration.

b. Access to Information Program

The Access to Information program (A2I), instituted within the Prime Minister’s Office, is the central hub for facilitation and oversight of the implementation of ICT related-activities. The key strategic priorities identified for action by A2I (2010) are:

(i) Enhance domestic and international connectivity.

(a) The government will expedite the process of having the second and even a third submarine cable connection to ensure redundancy and reliability in nationwide internet connectivity.

(b) The government will take the initiative to reduce the price of bandwidth, which will increase the number of internet users, enhance demand for local content and applications, and give an additional boost toward the development of a connected Bangladesh.

(c) The Rural Telecommunications Network Development and Utilization Guideline 2010, drafted by the Domestic Network Coordination Committee with Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission secretariat, will be...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Tables and Figures
• Foreword
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Executive Summary
• I. Introduction and Background: Opportunities of Information and Communication Technology for Education Equity, Quality, and Efficiency in South Asia
• II. A System Perspective of Information and Communication Technology in Education
• III. Making Sense of the State of Information and Communication Technology in Education in South Asia: Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
• IV. Lessons Learned and Planning for Information and Communication Technology in Education in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
• V. Conclusion and Recommendations
• Appendixes
• References
• Footnotes
• Back Cover