City Desk:Bangladeshis are working in 172 countries worldwide, according to a recent BBC Bangla report. The Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) states that around 2 million workers migrate annually from Bangladesh, most of those go on labor visas primarily to Middle Eastern countries. In the 2022 fiscal year, remittances from Bangladeshi expatriates amounted to approximately $21 billion. If an average worker earns between 30,000 to 50,000 taka monthly and sends 30% of that back home, it significantly boosts Bangladesh’s economy by increasing foreign reserves and stimulating local economic activities. This income also plays a crucial role in improving the living standards of their families and contributes to the country’s overall economic development.
Let’s consider another perspective. If Bangladesh can send 2 million skilled ICT professionals abroad, with a minimum monthly income of around 300,000 to 400,000 taka, they could send higher remittances to their families. If 40% of their income is remitted, it could bring in an additional $65 billion annually. Over ten years, this focus on the ICT job market could significantly elevate Bangladesh’s economic and global standing.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics’ 2022 Sample Vital Statistics, there are around 40 million young people aged 15-24, making up over 20% of the population. As of 2023, about 35% of these young people, or roughly 12 million, are not actively participating in the labor market. Ensuring healthcare, social security, and ICT education for these young individuals would be a valuable investment for Bangladesh’s future. Investing correctly in technology education could easily return dividends, enriching Bangladesh economically and positioning it at the forefront of the global talent market.
Today’s world is driven by information technology, transforming the globe into a ‘global village.’ However, the question remains: has Bangladesh truly integrated into this global village, or are we merely content with using social media via internet connections?
While Bangladesh is known for its cheap labor, there is potential to develop a skilled, technology-based workforce. This requires attracting the attention of students and parents to ICT from the early stages of education. Not just through high-tech parks, freelancing, or digital training, but by ensuring that students are familiar with ICT from the beginning of their educational journey.
For instance, alongside learning basic alphabets and numbers, students should also learn about technology terms such as “A for Abacus,” “B for Bluetooth,” and “C for Computer.” Achieving this requires a collaborative effort from teachers, parents, the government, stakeholders, and students to make ICT education popular and engaging.
To transform Bangladesh from a cheap labor market into a technology-based talent market, significant changes in the education system are necessary. Mandatory ICT education from school to university would ensure students grow up familiar with technology and capable of thriving in future ICT fields.
We must believe that if we can manufacture clothes, we can also build AI robots. This requires more than just seminars, training workshops, incubation centers, or high-tech parks. Students need to have subjects like robotics and other technology-related fields in their curriculum from an early age and enjoy learning about them.
The ICT Olympiad Bangladesh has been working towards this goal since its inception in 2021. Despite many challenges, by 2022, it had attracted nearly 18,000 students from around 200 educational institutions. The second phase has now begun with even more awareness and maturity.
The ICT Olympiad Bangladesh currently involves about 70,000 students, over 1,000 ICT teachers, more than 3,000 ICT ambassadors, and over 61 technology companies. This platform operates across 21 ICT segments, enabling students to keep pace with global ICT education. Its primary goal is to make ICT education popular, not just through events or competitions, but by fostering interest and competency in ICT among students.
The founder and CEO of ICT Olympiad Bangladesh, Mohammad Shahriar Khan, is a technologist and tech entrepreneur. He believes in branding Bangladesh’s ICT internationally and considers ICT to be a future major export product of Bangladesh. His aim is to encourage ICT education from an early age.
However, the current situation is challenging. Many digital labs in educational institutions are poorly maintained, and equipment is often underutilized or broken. Practical exams often lack proper oversight, leading to inadequate practical knowledge among students. Some institutions lack ICT teachers, and many existing teachers lack practical ICT training.
To change this, increased emphasis on technology education and ensuring proper facilities and trained teachers in educational institutions are necessary. Mohammad Shahriar Khan and his team are tirelessly working to achieve this goal, ensuring that Bangladesh secures a strong position in the ICT sector. They believe that today’s child who hears about ICT will understand it tomorrow and master it the day after.