Huawei Bangladesh has partnered with Bijoy Digital to provide digital solutions to T&T High schools across Bangladesh to facilitate distance learning. ‘Bridging the Digital Education Divide to Reduce the Gap’ – the project formed under the partnership will aid Huawei smart devices along with Bijoy Digital App and connectivity to the pre-school to Grade 4 students. The project received collaborative support from the UNESCO Office in Bangladesh.
This initiative was announced in a virtual inauguration ceremony that took place on July 8, 2020. Mustafa Jabbar, Minister, PTD, Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh attended the ceremony as the chief guest. The event was also attended by Md. Nur-Ur-Rahman, Secretary, Posts and Telecommunications Division, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh; Dr. Md. Rafiqul Matin, Managing Director, Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Limited (BTCL); Beatrice Kaldun, Head of Office and UNESCO Representative to Bangladesh; Jasmine Jui, CEO, Bijoy Digital; Halima Begum, Head Teacher, T&T Boys High School, Banani, Dhaka and Zhang Zhengjun, CEO, Huawei Technologies (Bangladesh) Limited.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, all the schools across Bangladesh have been shut down to maintain social distancing, and it leads millions of children to be out of the education system. Numerous schools across the country have restarted its teaching through distance learning. However, a higher percentage of the student population across the nation do not have access to digital technology.
Thus, digital technology with complimentary access to devices can transform the education sector and increase the rate of literacy across the nation even during the pandemic.
Initially, the project will start with T&T Boys High School in Banani, Dhaka and then move forward to other schools in two years. Huawei will provide Huawei Tab (Huawei MediaPad T3 10) to students and teachers to T&T Boys High School, Banani in Dhaka to empower the process of digital education. Bijay Digital will enable students to follow the national curriculum of Bangladesh in a digital innovative way. All the tabs will have pre-installed Bijay Digital apps.
By February 2021, the entities will ensure to provide the digital solutions for two other schools and will finish the project in August 2022.
Minister Mustafa Jabbar says, “Since the outbreak of COVID-19, numerous educational institutions around the nation have closed down to prevent further spread of the virus. Thus, the Government of Bangladesh has been relentlessly working to find and apply alternate ways to ensure the continuity of learning. I find so much confidence when I see Huawei is realizing the facts in the education sector and collaborating with local and UN organizations, took the initiative to distribute digital solutions to the students who do not have access to study. This will be one important part of ultimately accelerate the progress of digital transformation in Bangladesh.”
Md. Nur-Ur-Rahman says, “By making good education accessible, everyone can unlock their potential, paving the way for healthy socioeconomic development. This initiative will greatly help our students in this period as well as in the long run.”
Dr. Md. Rafiqul Matin says, “T&T schools have been spreading the traditional way of education for many years and now this project will facilitate our students to enter into the digital education system. So from BTCL perspective, it is our pleasure when we see our students getting sufficient supports to grow with the pace of the world. Thanks to Huawei’s efforts”
Beatrice Kaldun comments, “In order to reach each and every learner in Bangladesh, including those that are of high risk to be left behind, we all need to work together. By working together we can tackle and overcome learning content and connectivity gaps and thus allow learners to continue their learning during this unprecedented difficult time of COVID-19. UNESCO greatly appreciates the initiative and contribution of Huawei, who is a member of UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition for the COVID-19 response, as a technology provider in this project to ensure that “learning in Bangladesh never stops”.
Iftekhayrul Islam, Teacher, T&T Boys High School, expressed his gratitude, adding, ‘this great initiative will help students to continue their learning. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, we were facing various adversities to continue our educational activities during this time of turmoil. Against this backdrop, with the technological supports from Huawei, students can resume their study and learn easily amid this tough situation, and we will also be able to teach them efficiently.’’
Limon Khan, student of T&T Boys High School, who was present at the event, said, “This initiative will help us to have alternate ways of learning, and we are very excited about it.”
Zhang Zhengjun says, “Huawei, since its start of operation in Bangladesh, has been honored to be a part of the Digital Bangladesh journey. We will continue our efforts to realize this mission, Building and Fully Connected, Intelligent Bangladesh. We believe everyone, everywhere has the right to education and the equality of opportunity it brings. We hope that online learning will solve the gap that the pandemic has caused in the education system. Providing schools with internet access and digital technology can bring learning resources to be remote and disadvantaged communities and ensure greater opportunities for students around Bangladesh.”
He has added, “Mankind has overcome various global crises in the past, and as history has taught us, that if we stay resilient, then we will also overcome this crisis too. It is all about taking the right initiatives at the right time and adapting accordingly. We thank PTD, BTCL, Bijoy Digital and UNESCO to join us at our endeavor of enhancing digital education in Bangladesh.”
In 2019, a new initiative named “TECH4ALL” has announced by Huawei, it’s committed to promoting digital inclusion for both individuals and small businesses by focusing efforts on connectivity, applications and skills. Huawei has stepped up its efforts through this TECH4ALL initiative in support of UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition, set up to tackle the global challenges impacting education due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In Bangladesh, this initiative will start with the project of ‘Bridging the Digital Education Divide to Reduce the Gap’.
