The purpose of this initiative is to ensure a vibrant and effective teaching learning environment for a student to cope as a future global citizen. ICT gives students better understanding in a systematic way, makes learning more interesting and enjoyable and motivates them to more practice self-managed learning, while teachers tend to be more creative and innovative in their teaching methods.
Using ICT in classrooms can give students knowledge in order to be prepared to accomplish the country's vision of becoming a middle-income country by 2021. The government has formulated Education Policy 2010 and shows the utmost commitment to implement it.
ICT is the key enabler in democratising education through communicating the learning aspiration to all the students. The main intention of the government is to provide opportunity to all students to practice technology utilisation in teaching learning environment to face the challenges of globalisation.
Quality education depends largely on smart schools. Teachers and students jointly participate in teaching learning in a school environment. Teachers play an important role in effective teaching learning. Improving the quality of teaching learning environment to cope with the world is major agenda of Bangladesh.
Smart schools ensure quality education and congenial teaching learning environment. They help students develop themselves as global citizens. The school level is very important because at this level the foundation for future life is built, but most teachers face numerous problems while teaching and a majority of them are unable to manage a classroom effectively.
Rural areas and the disadvantaged and poorer segments of the population lack proper education system. Virtual interactive classroom (VIC) is totally absent in rural Bangladesh. A good number of first generation learners from disadvantage families live in rural areas and fulfilling their dreams depends on effective teaching learning environment at school. Most schools in rural areas are privately managed and newly established comparatively. There is a crying need for adequate number of computers and availability of electricity for the comprehensive use of ICT in teaching learning.
School education is one of the most important and biggest sub-sectors in our education system, having a huge number of institutions and teachers. Most teachers at the school level don't have computer literacy. The Gross Enrolment Rates in primary schools is 99.47% and dropout rate is 21% (2011), but in secondary schools enrolment rate is less and dropout rate is comparatively high. Both levels are quite large and the government is putting emphasis on these levels to convert the huge population into a work force.
Knowledge is fundamental to becoming global and globalisation has a profound impact on the transmission of knowledge that consequently calls for major transformations in all education systems all over the world.
Smart schools can play a vital role in ensuring global integration as well as in many aspects of life. Globalisation is an inescapable reality in today's society, and we cannot remain isolated from it. Development in electronic communication resulted in the breakdown of geographical and cultural barriers that further facilitates the process of social change impinging on every aspect of human existence.
In Bangladesh, the educational system and curricula are focusing on national and global context. Nowadays our education system is moving away from memory- based learning to education that stimulates thinking, creativity, caring, catering for individual abilities and learning styles. In other words, we are searching for a meaningful, socially responsible, multicultural, holistic and technological curriculum besides looking for a more global way to improve the quality of education focusing on values, attitudes and behaviour in a society full of diversity, especially in terms of race and culture.
Bangladesh allocates 2.6% of its total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for education sector while other South Asian countries allocate up to 6% of their GDP in this sector. Budgetary allocation in education sector in Bangladesh is only 11%. Only 5% people are under the purview of internet.
Among 19,040 secondary schools 4,714 don't have electricity connectivity. At primary level situation is more vulnerable. Connectivity and accessibility of internet are major preconditions for ensuring effective teaching learning. In this case, we are lagging behind.
Teacher-led digital content development training programme has been adapted nationwide. Teachers are being trained and encouraged to conduct classes using multimedia and projector. National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) has introduced digital text books. The government has taken a challenging initiative to ensure electricity in all secondary schools. Solar panels are going to be introduced in schools in remote areas.
There are four important elements in smart schools -- Smart Learning, Smart Teaching, Smart Assessment and also Smart use of Technology. It is a matter of grate regret that we do not have all four elements, especially Smart use of Technology. The government is committed to ensuring one multimedia and one projector at every school. It is trying to promote smart schools as an important factor for ensuring quality education and creating congenial teaching learning environment to help the students develop themselves as global citizens.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Khan Md. Mainul Hoque
Quelle/Source: The Daily Star Online, 20.01.2013
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