Bangladesh's poor ranking in the indexes of knowledge economy, innovation, education and ICT (information and communication technology), as measured by a study of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in the Asia-Pacific region has come as a rude shock to the soaring expectation of a digital Bangladesh. So long, the impression was that the country was poised to making a breakthrough in the global ICT business. But to most people's surprise, the country shares the third lowest score in the ICT index, with just 1.01 point to its credit, whereas the highest one -- 9.06 -- is scored by Chinese Taipei followed by Hong Kong with 9.04, Singapore with 8.78, Japan with 8.07 and Republic of Korea with 8.05. The average rating for the Asia-Oceania countries is 4.28 where Pakistan has a score of 3.6, Sri Lanka 2.8 and India 1.9. Bangladesh may derive some solace from the Indian ranking but it is likely to be cold comfort when the country is tagged with Nepal.
However, it is not in the area of ICT alone, in other areas also the country wallows at the bottom. In the area of knowledge economy, its position is last but one and so is its position in the innovation category out of 28 countries in the South and East Asian regions. Knowledge economy is a measure of the environment to know how conducive it is to effectively use knowledge for economic development. Bangladesh's is a sorry figure with a score of 1.49 in the knowledge economy index where the regional average is 4.39. In the innovation index, its score is 1.69 as against the mean score of 4.5 for the region. Finally, in the area of education it scores 1.75 points as against the average score of 4.66.
Now progress in all three other areas is largely dependent on education. True, these are early days for ICT education in Bangladesh. The subject has only been introduced to higher secondary (college) level from this year. So long its study was limited to tertiary level mainly except for some short courses in polytechnic institutes -both public and private. This is going to be changed with the introduction of the subject from secondary level of education. But still, an uneasy feeling is likely to haunt all who are involved with the process of advancing ICT studies in the country. Penetration of computer and internet has been appreciably widespread but what seems to be amiss is the formal academic learning in this respect. Quacks are still ruling the roost in use of the technology. An erudite approach to ICT education is yet to be taken.
So far as knowledge economy is concerned, once again an inherent weakness in the system of education is to blame. Today, top students are interested in studying business administration instead of economics because this more or less guarantees a highly paying job. For the rest, though, things are not as rosy. A British Council-sponsored report prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit has estimated unemployed graduate rate at an outlandish 47 per cent. This may be exaggerated to some extent, no doubt, but the fact remains that not all the graduates, being churned out by private universities, are receiving quality education. Their education leaves much to be desired and hence if they fail to add to knowledge or performance in practical life, there is nothing to be surprised.
Even the traditional stereotyped education at the tertiary level is not complemented by an atmosphere of creativity. Universities have limited facilities for research and experiments. In this context, collaboration of big business houses proves crucial. In advanced countries, such collaboration acts as the driving force behind innovation and technological development. Engineering universities have started receiving backing from some companies mostly because of technological adaptation to and improvement for the local condition. In fundamental research no such fund is available.
In the absence of facilities, talented students often opt for studies abroad. Yet some students have made a bold statement by devising technology or machines with prospect for their use at home and abroad. The important thing is to bring about a happy marriage between theoretical knowledge and its practical use. There lies the secret of knowledge economy and innovation. Business in this country has flourished but it is mostly dependent on import in most cases except, of course, for the garments and a few other items. The country is in need of making a breakthrough in the area of manufacture, development and innovation of ICT products. Here is one area where the size of capital to be invested can be smaller compared to other industries.
All this points to the fact that the standard of education in this country has to be raised to the international level if the intention is to maximise the benefit. The consideration for quantity must now give in to that for quality. Quality education alone can make the miracle happen. But unfortunately, the basics of education remains neglected at the secondary and the higher secondary level. The thrust on higher percentage of pass and scores has prompted all to opt for short-cuts. The setting of question papers and distribution of marks have been deliberately given a shape where an average student can score high. In a country where daily newspapers devote a page to such format of questions, one knows where lies the priority -achieving high scores or learning the subject. There is nothing to be surprised for the country to have fared poorly in knowledge economy, innovation and ICT.
nilratanhalder200@yahoo.com
Quality education behind knowledge economy
Nilratan Halder | Published: September 05, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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