The Ministry of Post and Telecommunication will provide internet bandwidth at a low cost to Bangladesh Research and Education Network (BdREN,), an education network of the University Grants Commission (UGC), to provide easy internet facility to the students for digital education. Post and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar came up with the announcement at a virtual meeting with BdREN on Thursday. While addressing the meeting as the chief guest, Mustafa Jabbar said there is no alternative to digital network expansion. Also read: Freedom fighters to get smart ID cards, digital certificates The Ministry of Post and Telecommunication has already introduced free high-speed wifi zones at 587 educational institutions across the country to provide internet facilities to the students. The minister said the Department of Telecommunications is implementing a digital education system at 650 primary schools all over the country. Also read: Banks must focus on digitalization, cyber security: BB Governor Post and Telecommunication Secretary Md Khalilur Rahman presided over the meeting while UGC acting Chairman Dr Dil Afroza Begum, Post and Telecommunication Additional Secretary Md Mahbub-ul-Alam, BTCL Managing Director Rafiqul Matin, Submarine Cable Company Limited Managing Director AKM Habibur Rahman, BdREN Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Tawrit, among others, spoke.

To resolve the crisis unfolded by the pandemic, all education stakeholders should address the need for digital education, online learning, and enhanced teaching methods and act accordingly,  Huawei Bangladesh CEO Zhang Zhengjun said Tuesday. He was addressing an award-giving ceremony organised by Unesco Bangladesh, a2i, and the ICT Division in the capital. Chinese telecom giant Huawei has recently donated 20 tablets for winners of the call for video clips competition organised by Unesco Bangladesh on the occasion of World Teachers' Day 2021. Teachers of different backgrounds participated in the competition and came up with innovative approaches to cope with the challenging times through videos. Out of lots of submissions, 20 teachers were selected as the winners of the competition. READ: Huawei Bangladesh gets Pioneer 5G Partner Award "We know that our education sector has faced many challenges during the pandemic. Since early March 2020, around 1.43 million children across Bangladesh have become dependent on distance learning as a result of school closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic," Zhang said at the event. Beatrice Kaldun, head of office and Unesco representative to Bangladesh, said: "Teachers need to play an instrumental role in reviving the education system in the post-Covid era." READ: 5G rollout: Teletalk ties up with Huawei "I feel elated to announce that we received video clips from 162 teachers across the country. It helped us learn about the innovative ways our teachers used in teaching amid the challenging times of Covid-19."

The telecommunication industry of Bangladesh has become the fifth largest in the Asia-Pacific through the joint efforts of the public and the private sectors.

Laying emphasis on the need for digital transformation of education from primary school to higher education, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar said that digital devices and the Internet are vital tools for students.

Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Wednesday said that digitalisation of education is necessary to turn the country’s 65 percent of youth into manpower.