Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday asked UNESCO to declare remote learning and online education as a global public good as these are creating a new divide. “I also call upon UNESCO to work as a matter of priority with Governments, private sectors and other stakeholders to rally partnership and resources to make this happen,” she said while delivering her speech at the 41st General Conference of UNESCO held at its Headquarters here. The Prime Minister said the pandemic has undermined the hard-earned achievements while it has revealed a major fault line in the education system. According to UNESCO, close to half of the world's students are affected by partial or full school closures, she said. “Online education evolved as a “new normal” during the pandemic. Yet, it also exposed a new divide,” she added. In this connection, Sheikh Hasina said the advanced countries could swiftly move to online platforms. But the developing countries and LDCs were pushed further behind due to lack of resources and technologies. “This has jeopardized our decades of gains in school enrollment, literacy rate and learning of youth and adults,” she observed. While digitisation has enhanced better services and free flow of information, all are worried by the misuse of digital tools and platforms for spreading harmful contents and hate speech, she said. “This has a significant negative impact on the peace and stability of the society. World bodies like UNESCO should work for addressing this issue,” said the PM. Read: Hasina invites French entrepreneurs to invest in Bangladesh Talking about climate change, she said this is a life-threatening reality not only for Bangladesh but also for many other countries of the world.

Due to the easy availability of technology, anyone can get a degree from various universities in America and Europe at home. You can get certificates from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Oxford, and other famous universities online. Apart from this, the opportunity to participate in free courses is available online at almost all reputed universities. As a result, without going to Europe or America, online is now becoming an alternative way for young people to get a foreign degree. More than 2 million students from 165 countries worldwide are taking various courses online for free on more than 100 subjects. How can distance learning help career advancement? When a student studies a subject through conventional means, there is less opportunity to study other subjects. However, enthusiastic learners can overcome this limitation through distance learning online. Students or professionals can be involved in e-learning while they are full-time jobholders. Read SoP for Higher Studies: How to write an unfailing Statement of Purpose? The biggest advantage is that it will be possible to obtain an international degree in your home country without any visa complications and additional fees. Further, there is no obstacle of education break and age. There is no danger of wasting time getting the desired degree as there is no session delay like the conventional procedure. The popularity or acceptance of foreign online courses in Bangladesh is continuously emerging. Not to mention, these certificates will add extra value to the resume. Gaining knowledge is more important than getting a certificate in an online course. The knowledge earned from online courses can help an individual apply those in the workplace, which ultimately helps career advancement. Further, these certificates will make your commitments a little stronger to the employer. These courses may be useful for those who want to switch careers in the future. Read Can E-Learning Substitute Classroom Learning? Where to get online international degrees? There are many online education platforms such as Coursera, EDX that can provide international-level education. Further, many top-level universities also provide distance learning opportunities. Several leading universities and institutes in the United States and the United Kingdom are popular for distance learning. In addition, various universities in Europe, Australia, and even a few universities in our neighboring country India have distance learning programs. Some of the most popular educational institutions in the United States offering distance learning programs are Boston University, University of Florida, Arizona State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University, Washington State, etc. Read IELTS vs TOEFL: Which is better for study abroad? Popular universities in the UK include the University of London (Institute of Education), the University of Manchester, the University of Liverpool, the University of Northampton, the University of Edinburgh Napier, and the Ashridge Business School. Apart from this, the distance education system has been introduced in various reputed universities in different countries around the world.

The country's second-largest mobile operator Robi will offer a low-cost internet data package for university teachers and students to support online education.

The education ministry is yet to choose between reopening schools and colleges and extending the shutdown. However, it hopes to make a decision before November 14.

Students of public and private universities will be provided with internet bandwidth of state-owned mobile operator Teletalk at a nominal price to help continue their online education activities.

National University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Harun-Or-Rashid on Monday said all colleges of the country will be brought under a single platform soon to continue education online.

Khulna district administration on Monday introduced online education on Facebook and YouTube platforms for school students as they have been staying at home for over one month and will have to continue to stay out of their schools until May 30.

Singapore has suspended the use of Zoom for online education after hackers hijacked a lesson and showed obscene images to students.