Role Of Digitization In Education

Sitting in front of a desktop, you may think of communicating and reaching out to friends, playing games, watching movies and endless television series’ available on various online channels. But, in order to build an informed youth base, one must advance the digitisation of education and prepare youth for an empowered digital future.

My name is Prantar Das Anoy, a youth leader from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Through the my active engagement with Jaago Foundation, I am living my purpose. Bridging the digital divide and teaching the future generation of Bangladesh. As an online teacher I share the importance of education to young people, and contribute to building an educated youth community.

Jaago Foundation operates throughout the country focused on youth development, with programmes such as Volunteer for Bangladesh. Since 2016, I have been an Online Teacher with the foundation in their Education Program. Our goal is to reach underprivileged children living in the rural and hard to reach areas of the country where quality education can barely be delivered.

How we work

We are living in the age of technology and our work supports the digital era. Through web technology and WebEx software combined with the supervision of our Education Coordinators, we bring classes to those children that need it the most. This simple and interactive model is modified by our Founder, Mr. Korvi Rakshand. It is easy, just like video chatting with a friend. The schools, which are called “Online School Program (OSP)” are situated in different remote areas of the country and are officially recognised as part of the formal schooling system.

Assistant teachers are present to manage the physical classroom while we virtually deliver online lectures on different subject matters. Where possible, we encourage additional voluntary and extracurricular activities, to further sharpen their digital skills. Online School Program (OSP) provides free, quality education and study materials, that equip learners with skills to compete in this advanced digital world.

The #GCEYouthCaucus 2018

I am proud to be nominated by Jaago Foundation to attend the Global Campaign for Education Youth Caucus in Nepal as a youth leader actively involved in the civil society movement. This nomination is supported by CAMPE– “Campaign for Popular Education of Bangladesh”, an active member of Global Campaign for Education (GCE), Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education (ASPBAE), International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) and Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP).

Youth bring value to the movement

The #GCEYouthCaucus, comes at a significant time. Youth participation and impacts reverberate around the world, especially in developing countries such as Bangladesh. The #GCEYouthCaucus will encourage positive results around the globe as youth take their rightful place and ownership on education matters that affect them. Worldwide, youth are recognised as vital key players in decision making processes. Youth are pathfinders and problem solvers to global and national crises that is education. There is no doubt, education plays a dynamic role in the long term advancement of future generations. Youth are equipped, ready, and skilled to contribute to education in a constructive manner.

The world needs to re-organize and re-think how to implement IT based strategies in a way that is open minded. Education stakeholders should think out of the box when tackling the education crisis. Web based education is a long term investment and the results are not rapid as traditional methods of analogue teaching, but the investment is worth it. Above all, an efficient digital investment on youth for the betterment of education is essential today to prepare young people for a bright digital future.

In conclusion, I look forward to representing Bangladesh to the rest of the world, and the youthful engagements at the #GCEYouthCaucus. The debates and lessons shared I will bring back to my work with CAMPE in association with Jaago Foundation and to continue live my dreams of educating youth.

Author: Prantar Das Anoy