Editorial
Messing up websites
A poor start to digital Bangladesh
WHILE the government is committed to making Bangladesh a digital country by 2021, one preliminary step has gone wrong as most of its 250 official websites contain outdated information, or are still under construction. Some of these contain data or information dating one and a half years back. Nobody has bothered to update the same, so that people have to visit offices to obtain information they need or get their queries met thus making the websites meaningless. The departments seemingly have washed their hands of the websites once they were opened. Who is in charge, who is the supervising authority, how many hits they get -- are necessary ingredients of a modern, functional and efficacious websites.
It is evident that the plan to digitalise Bangladesh, which has everything that development planners would endorse, suffers from some basic flaws. It seems the government websites have been constructed just to go through the motions or meet certain targets. But when it comes to information dissemination, the task is approached perfunctorily. We wonder when the next projected step is to supply forms and have them filled in or, indeed popularise payment of utility bills online what might be the level of efficiency or lack of it!
The ministries concerned, or those in charge of designing and maintaining the websites, appear to be oblivious of the fact that the whole purpose of computerisation is to ensure efficient, corruption-free and timely delivery of services. The website and other governmental online operators have to be both dynamic and aware of people's need. It is, of course, sheer wastage of time and money to have a system which does not serve its purpose.
The rather deplorable state of affairs does prove that the digital vision alone won't carry us far in this particularly demanding sector. People at both the planning and implementation levels have to fully comprehend that IT technology will be useful only when the system is made up-to-date. It is not enough to buy and install hardware and leave the system to function on its own.
Regrettably, the situation is not far better as far as other leading organisations, universities etc are concerned. The websites of public universities have to be developed to the level where the students and all others seeking information can be benefited. Again, the emphasis should be on updating and enriching information on a regular basis. The practice of having an IT department, which exists only in paper, must be shunned.
There are of course limitations like poor infrastructure and inadequate supply of electricity, but the planners are expected to formulate everything in light of what is available. If the government wants to make any headway in its grand scheme of making Bangladesh digital by 2021, as it has promised, it has to progressively improve the energy supply situation, expand internet use and train up IT operators on a larger scale.
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