Applied knowledge on technology is more essential than textbooks

 
Computers, laptops, tabs and android phones have reached people's hands across Bangladesh which has massively enabled digital communications to become smoother and wider at both individual and collective levels. Now people in most cases don't have to queue up in banks and post offices as exchanging money from any corner of the country have become a task of just several minutes through online banking and mobile transaction systems. Now we don't have to send letters to nearest and dearest ones and don't have to wait for a reply for weeks because people are at present able to communicate with each other over cell phones everyday repeatedly.

Despite the expansion of technologies and sophisticated devices still there are lots of people in our country who don't have enough proficiency with information and communication technology (ICT). Particularly, it has been observed for a long time that the young people of the current era spend a great deal of time on playing games, hearing music and browsing social networks on their cell phones but they don't dedicate much time or efforts for improving their ICT skills. In this context ICT skills refer to the capability to use computers or laptops for composing letters, articles, reports, curriculum vitae etcetera.

I have personally met a lot of young people whose inefficiency in computing has shocked and surprised me while their speed at playing computer games is quite high. Computer games are entertaining things and such entertainment is sometimes acceptable unless it becomes something like an addiction. But being able to type on computers in English and Bengali is much more essential than video games or play stations. Parents at homes across Bangladesh should be cautious about this point.

They should not allow their children to do useless things on computers and cell phones continuously. Rather parents should persuade their kids to boost their skills to use computers and laptops for necessary things which are indispensable in the corporate arena. At present many boys and girls are not finding good jobs in the private sector of Bangladesh due to their poor performance at ICT and English language.

Another important angle in this connection is that ICT skills among the government officials of Bangladesh are not at all satisfactory. Most of the government offices in Bangladesh still fully depend on files and paperwork which are blamed for bureaucratic entanglements by many people. Exchanging emails, browsing internet and doing other things digitally are still not so widely practiced by the government employees in our country. Dexterity in ICT and IT enabled services can drive Bangladesh forward and can also create new jobs for youths who have sufficient ICT skills.