Some 1.7 lakh, or 170,000 primary and secondary schools will be connected with high speed fibre optic internet connectivity within 2030, State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said Tuesday.

The state minister inaugurating a “Girls in Tech Day Bangladesh 2021” program organized by International Telecommunication Union’s Asia and Pacific regional office.

The campaign will be implemented under the Digital Connectivity project, he said.

Also read: 35,000 modern digital labs to be installed to give more access to girls: Palak

Palak said, “The ICT department is working closely with the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education to include Coding learning in the primary education syllabus from next year.”  

Moreover 35,000 modern digital computer labs will be established across the country for making a skilled next generation, he said.

The initiative is one of the many taken by the government like Girls in ICT Program, Job Opportunity and Empowerment, ensuring no one lags in technology, said the State Minister.

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With the assistance of the United Nations, fifty thousand entrepreneurs have been created, 4,000 women freelancers who aspire to be entrepreneurs while 7,000 women were trained to work as IT service providers and call center agents, he said.

Fifty percent of the entrepreneurs working in 7,000 Union Digital Centers are currently women, which is an achievement for the bottom up approach taken by the government, said Palak.