The government has planned to provide tabs to primary school teachers and eventually digital devices to students as part of a phased rollout of interactive digital systems in classrooms, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a seminar on ‘Digital Gender Norms’ organised by BBC Media Action at a city hotel, the state minister said the goal is to raise the next generation not by keeping them away from digital technology out of fear, but by teaching safe, responsible and positive use of it, UNB reports.
The state minister said children and adolescents should not be distanced from technology but should instead be prepared for the future through proper guidance on its use.
Referring to the internet shutdown during the July 2024 mass uprising, the state minister said attempts to silence public voices by cutting off internet access failed, and that experience proved digital media was now an inseparable part of society, the state and civic life. “The priority now is not to reject technology but to build the capacity to use it correctly.”
Noting a clear mismatch between the pace of technological advancement and the prevailing social and cultural values, he said bridging this gap required education institutions, families, society and the state to work together with urgent need for training children and adolescents in safe digital behaviour, information verification and online ethics.
He expressed concern that fake photos, fake videos, character assassination and digital harassment on social media have reached an alarming level, with women, adolescent girls and women politicians the biggest victims. “Ensuring accountability on digital platforms and implementing effective laws and policies for the protection of children and women is a demand of the times.”
The government's aim, he said, is not to impose unreasonable restrictions on technology use but to strike a balance between freedom and security, adding that some effective regulation was necessary in the current social reality to safeguard children and women.
The government is incorporating value-based education, digital safety, life skills, gender sensitivity and civic values as key components of the new primary curriculum, working in coordination with local and foreign experts and development partners including UNESCO.
Addressing representatives of international and national NGOs, the state minister said the ministry is now working under an open-door policy and that any initiative proven effective for students would be considered by the government for adoption and wider implementation.
On women's empowerment, the state minister said establishing women's leadership required more than slogans, calling for equal opportunity, equal rights, a safe environment and confidence-building from childhood, with educational institutions forming the foundation for this change.
Representatives of BBC Media Action, teachers, students and guardians from educational institutions in Khulna and Savar, along with officials from UN Women, Plan International, Jaago Foundation and other NGOs, attended the event.
