UIC brings info tech at rural doorsteps
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Mehdi Musharraf Bhuiyan
Back in the old days, Madrasha teacher Abdul Majid used to travel to Sirajganj town from his village in Madhainagar at least once a month, just to check his pay status.
A few months back he heard from one of his students about a Community e-Centre on the outskirts of his village where the same thing can be done online in 10 minutes.
"I never thought it could be so simple," said Majid. "Previously, it cost me Tk. 200 and a day's trip to the district headquarters to check my pay status, which I can now accomplish in minutes for Tk 10 only."
Majid is not alone enjoying such benefits, but in the last two years, thousands of rural Bangladeshis of 32 unions have accessed computer and Internet for the first time, thanks to a United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) initiative based on public private partnership model called 'Community e-Centre."
"CeC is a place where local people can gather information on agriculture, fisheries, education, healthcare or can access various government forms through Internet or relevant multimedia CDs," said Prosanta Kumar Roy, Director of National Institute of Local Government (NILG), which is now overseeing the project.
Aimed at bringing the ICT to the rural doorsteps, the rural information centres are equipped with computers, printers, scanners, webcams, multimedia projectors and Internet facilities.
"One can e-mail, browse the Internet, print, compose, scan or take photographs under one roof at a lower cost, a facility previously unthinkable in the rural context," Mr Proshanto added.
UNDP first set up Community e-Centres as a pilot project beginning with two Union Parishads in 2007. Local Government Engineering Department took over in 2008 and currently plans are underway to set up 70 more such telecentres termed "Union Information Centres" in the country by 2009, taking the total tally to 100.
"Our ultimate goal is to set up at least 1,000 Union Information Centres (UIC) by June 2010, and by 2011, we aim to establish one information centre in every Union Parishad in the country," the NILG Director said.
Union or Community e-Centres are based on a PPP model, however the partnership in this case is unconventional in that the private stakeholders in these centres are local young entrepreneurs.
"Studies found that it usually requires investment of around Tk 150,000 to Tk 200,000 to set up a UIC," said Manik Mahmood, an A2I programme consultant at the Prime Minister's Office. He added, "Around 40 per cent of which is financed by a local entrepreneur."
"The local Union Parishad arranges the office building and all the necessary machines and equipment, LGED and NILG works for capacity building and UNDP provides the technical support," he added.
Back in the old days, Madrasha teacher Abdul Majid used to travel to Sirajganj town from his village in Madhainagar at least once a month, just to check his pay status.
A few months back he heard from one of his students about a Community e-Centre on the outskirts of his village where the same thing can be done online in 10 minutes.
"I never thought it could be so simple," said Majid. "Previously, it cost me Tk. 200 and a day's trip to the district headquarters to check my pay status, which I can now accomplish in minutes for Tk 10 only."
Majid is not alone enjoying such benefits, but in the last two years, thousands of rural Bangladeshis of 32 unions have accessed computer and Internet for the first time, thanks to a United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) initiative based on public private partnership model called 'Community e-Centre."
"CeC is a place where local people can gather information on agriculture, fisheries, education, healthcare or can access various government forms through Internet or relevant multimedia CDs," said Prosanta Kumar Roy, Director of National Institute of Local Government (NILG), which is now overseeing the project.
Aimed at bringing the ICT to the rural doorsteps, the rural information centres are equipped with computers, printers, scanners, webcams, multimedia projectors and Internet facilities.
"One can e-mail, browse the Internet, print, compose, scan or take photographs under one roof at a lower cost, a facility previously unthinkable in the rural context," Mr Proshanto added.
UNDP first set up Community e-Centres as a pilot project beginning with two Union Parishads in 2007. Local Government Engineering Department took over in 2008 and currently plans are underway to set up 70 more such telecentres termed "Union Information Centres" in the country by 2009, taking the total tally to 100.
"Our ultimate goal is to set up at least 1,000 Union Information Centres (UIC) by June 2010, and by 2011, we aim to establish one information centre in every Union Parishad in the country," the NILG Director said.
Union or Community e-Centres are based on a PPP model, however the partnership in this case is unconventional in that the private stakeholders in these centres are local young entrepreneurs.
"Studies found that it usually requires investment of around Tk 150,000 to Tk 200,000 to set up a UIC," said Manik Mahmood, an A2I programme consultant at the Prime Minister's Office. He added, "Around 40 per cent of which is financed by a local entrepreneur."
"The local Union Parishad arranges the office building and all the necessary machines and equipment, LGED and NILG works for capacity building and UNDP provides the technical support," he added.