All this, and much more has happened in last one decade, thanks to the advancement in the domestic information and communication technology (ICT) sector. Digitisation of the economy is under way.
However, Nepal still has miles to go. It is at the 137th position (2012) in the ICT Development Index, as per the International Telecommunications Union, a UN body for global telecommunication matters. It clearly shows no matter how much advancement Nepal has made in the ICT sector, other economies are advancing at a faster pace.
In this recent statement given in Kathmandu, Minister of Education (MoE) Madhav Prasad Paudel cast his vision of Nepal’s future. He also added, “The gulf between the rich and the poor is widening due to the current education system. The government should focus on ICT (Information and Communications Technology Education) to narrow down the gap between the rich and the poor.”
The MoE mandated the ICT in Education five-year Master Plan in March 2013. This ICT in Education Plan hopes to provide the necessary ICT skills to students, increase access to learning material, and encourage the effectiveness and efficiency of education governance.
Some schools in Kathmandu have started implementing e-learning and smart classes, for which they have been getting acclaim. Blackboards became white boards, and in their place we now have digital/smart boards.
This is an evolution as well as revolution in the sector of teaching. The concept of e-learning has entered our society, and students have become e-kids. Our neighboring countries have already started using digital boards and ICT methodologies, but in Nepal most parents are unable to bear the expensive fees such facilities create.
The program emphasized on the role that information and communication technologies (ICT) plays in bringing about development in a community.
During the presentation, Kabita Gautam, Founder/Coordinator of BYND2015 Nepal Hub shared, “As a part of crowd-sourcing ideas, BYND2015 Nepal Hub in collaboration with BTND2015-ITU is organizing different activities with the theme ‘ICT for Development and Future Generations.’
Read more: NP: Information and communication technologies for development
With the expiry on Monday of the deadline set by the Election Commission (EC) for registering voters in the new electoral rolls with photos and biometrics, altogether 12.1 million voters across the country have been registered.
The number is 5.5 million lesser than the total number of voters registered for the 2008 Constituent Assembly (CA) election. Altogether 17.6 million voters were registered for the 2008 CA election.