The next step in digital literacy

Without digital literacy, we risk being left behind like medieval people, and the vision of building a 'smart Bangladesh' will remain a pipe dream, as it is right now. Even though the idea of digital literacy has been introduced in the country, citizens of this country haven't been digitally literate yet.

Digital literacy refers to the ability to effectively and critically navigate, evaluate, and create information using digital technologies. It consists of a range of skills, including technical proficiency, information literacy, communication and collaboration, cybersecurity awareness, media literacy, and digital ethics & responsibility. Digital literacy is indispensable in the age of AI for education, work, and everyday life, as it enables people to participate fully in a technology-driven society. This is crucial in a country where around half of the population still battles with child labour and early marriage.

Nowadays, people spend most of their time glued to a screen, be it mobile or computer, importance of digital literacy has come to an epitome. At the same time, the lack of it in Bangladesh has become very evident. In Bangladesh's national curriculum, there are not many elements to comprehend digital literacy; however, there have been attempts. From including ICT courses to managing small computer labs, high schools and colleges have been developing.

This FE representative has talked with some students from various areas of study about digital literacy. Rahgir Arefin Rafi, a mechatronics student at RUET, said, "Our curriculum doesn't do any justice to digital literacy; currently I'm studying mechatronics and whenever we converse with someone from abroad, we see they have been studying basics of coding and robotics in their 11th and 12th grades. In our national curriculum, the ICT course only includes the basics of HTML and nothing else. Students cannot really be interested in exploring this sort of subject for higher studies if we don't let them know it properly in their 12th grade. Our national curriculum creates more indifference towards technical skills rather than making students embrace it."

Another student at RUET, Arifur Rahman who's majoring in electrical and computer engineering, said, "Even though schools nowadays have a computer lab, most of them are showoffs. Most of the time, teachers don't even know how to teach the students their courses. I studied at Notre Dame College, so I had some of the best instructors in this case; at least they taught us the curriculum well, even if the curriculum was a mess. However, many of my friends were in the governmentcolleges or other private colleges where teachers don't even know how HTML works, not to mention C/C++. So, how would students learn? Improving our curriculum is fine, but training the teachers is equally important."

However, digital literacy doesn't limit itself to technical skills. Nipun Afridi, a student at the Department of International Relations in University of Dhaka, said, "In this era of digitalised world, media has also been digitalised and that's why media literacy is more important than ever. In social media, you'll see most people sharing news without any verification and the ones with an agenda are taking this opportunity now more than ever. To build a smart Bangladesh or at least an informed one, we should learn how to fact-check at least the basic information. In addition, you'll see people causing problems on digital platforms due to miscommunication but we should have learned how to communicate properly back in school."

Digital communication is a massive part of digital literacy. In the modern world where most of the time you don't see the other person's reaction, communicating properly is more necessary than ever. The national curriculum of Bangladesh should also address this in order to make a more informed, well-communicated generation for the future.

Sunehera Subaha, a student of psychology at the University of Dhaka, said, "I don't think Bangladesh's national curriculum helped me with digital literacy. There should be digital literacy courses in the curriculum and it should be accessible to all, especially at schools, teaching students about online safety and e-communication. As children learn faster they should be introduced to it at a primary level."

As more companies adopt advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and automation, the demand for digitally literate employees continues to rise. Improving existing ICT courses to discuss HTML/C/C++ more clearly, training teachers with technical skills, and introducing e-communication and media courses are among the top priorities to make a more aware generation for the future. In addition, increasing equipment in schools is also necessary since most schools don't have adequate accessories in their so-called computer labs.

To truly build a smart and future-ready Bangladesh, it is essential to also integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) education into the national curriculum. AI is no longer a futuristic concept-it is already shaping industries, job markets, and daily life. Schools must introduce AI concepts early to help students understand and innovate with emerging technologies.

At least five different AI tools should be part of the school and college-level computer science curriculum to provide hands-on learning. These could include: Scratch with AI extensions - for coding and understanding basic logic, Teachable Machine for understanding machine learning through image/audio input), ChatGPT to explore natural language processing and responsible AI use, MIT App Inventor with AI features (for mobile app development), and Google Colab (to run and test Python-based AI models.

Moreover, the Bangladeshi government should develop or adopt proprietary AI platforms tailored to local language, culture, and context-ensuring accessibility for all students, including rural and underprivileged communities. This can bridge the digital divide and create a generation not only capable of using technology but also innovating with it. Public-private partnerships and teacher training are vital to make this shift sustainable and inclusive.

While the Bangladesh government is taking initiatives by introducing different courses in and outside of the national curriculum, the quality of these courses remains questionable. If this is addressed properly, the country can hope for a generation with proper technical skills and digital literacy.

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