Editorial
On the ICT road
We have many more miles to go
The PM has laid out her government's vision for the use of information technology to reach its benefit to the people. A good start has been made, and many creditable steps have been taken in this regard as a first step.
No doubt more intensive use of ICT would also help inculcate greater transparency and accountability in the administration. The idea to deliver service to the people rather than people having to go after it, sometimes at great cost and personal distress, is indeed very laudable.
The plan, as articulated by the PM, will mean a leap forward for IT in the country and would certainly go a long way to help achieve the objective of digital Bangladesh.
The steps taken so far in getting some of the initial infrastructure in place and to have appropriate curriculum incorporated in the course content at secondary level is laudable indeed. However, without sounding pessimistic, we would like to suggest that more needs to be done to see the plan through to its fruition.
The matter is not as simple as it appears at first glance; we say this primarily because many similar projects had floundered in the past mainly because the sustained effort needed for success was found lacking. It has been distressing also to see plans falling through because of the parochial manner in which certain policies of one administration were treated by the succeeding one.
Several things would have to be ensured for success. For one thing, the vision would need formulation of achievable plans laying out the methodology; to succeed the plan would have to embrace the nook and corner of the country, and for which a huge initial investment would be necessary. And this is where the role of the government would be crucial. Apart from a sustainable action plan, the government would also need to create environment that would encourage private investment to see the plan through. In fact this can become a good example of private-public partnership.
We feel that there is also need to cull from experiences of others, particularly of our neighbours who have made very significant strides in the field of ICT, like India. We should also make use of our own knowledge and skill in this regard. We have in mind the matter of production of national ID card and the updating of the voter list with picture during the last caretaker government, the former being a completely new venture. We have a large crop of well trained computer operators who were employed in that project and who can now form the core group of basic level trainers. But above everything else, the idea of a digital Bangladesh may not come to pass in its true sense if the greater majority of our population remains unlettered. All said and done will commend the PM for the support she is giving to this important project.
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