“We did not have any knowledge on computer one and half years back. After taking training from Dishari we started IT business in our Pourashava town and now we are earning about Taka 12000 - 14000 monthly,” said Md. Marfat Afridi, an HSC examination candidate and a second batch student of Dishari, a basic IT education centre at Chechua, Kushtia.
Marfat Afridi, Md. Issa Huq Obaidi and Md. Saiful Islam Sujon have started operating "ABC Computer and Multimedia centre" at Mirpur Bazar under Mirpur Pourashava, Kushtia from June last year with only one computer. “We were the
students of second batch of Dishari IT education centre and after the training course we felt the urge to utilise the training,” Issa Huq Obaidi narrated their endeavour to the correspondent.
Both Obaidi and Marfat said that they got advice from Dishari’s full time trainer Mahbub Rahman regarding setting up of their centre. At first they were confined within composing and training activities. But later with the
help of a local NGO personnel they took lesson on video editing. They loaded video editing software and bought a video camera and another computer at the end of last year. With these new additions their business has expanded.
Now their activities also include video recording and video editing of different social, promotional and administrative programmes. “At the beginning their income was within the range of Taka 5000 to Taka 6000, now it has increased to about Taka 14000,” Marfat said.
When asked about the source of money for setting up the computer centre, he said that they did not take any loan from anywhere but from their families. From the earning, they are giving financial support to their family. While
giving training in their centre they are following the training methods of Dishari basic IT education centre as the course modules and teaching style of Dishari seemed to them ‘communicative and more effective."
Dishari classroom at Chechua has thirteen computers and a multimedia projector for 12 students and a teacher. Full time teacher of the centre Mahbub Rahman, popular among the students said, “Students enrolled in the batch mostly did not have any idea about computer before, but it is the
course design and training method that have made their learning process much easier and we provided course module to the students after the end of the course.”
Dishari is providing basic computer education to the rural students free of cost through the facilities compared with few reputed and costly IT education centres. Facilities provided by Dishari are - a full time teacher who is trained both in computer skills and interpersonal communication for better learning, using multi-media projector in the classroom for the convenience of students, a full time counsellor for assisting students on the basis of their needs, accessibility to individual personal computers at the centre for all students of a batch, off time practice session, library with reference books, practice scope for former students of the centre
during off time and culture of ‘learning by doing’ methods in the classroom.
A two-month long course not only focuses on Microsoft office and Internet applications but also on English orientation so that they can understand the lesson easily and effectively.
Female students and daughters of tobacco farmers Nasreen Ara and Asia Khatun attended all the classes during the course period after travelling about 15 to 20 kilometers. They said that as the teaching method was interesting and
every class is important for doing good in test we attended the class. About the counselling of the centre Nasreen Ara said, “when any topic or issue seem to me difficult I told the counsellor Madam Nasreen apa and she gave me
a solution.” Asia Khatun also said that we can also make our reaction on teaching method, course modules and the personal problems to the counsellor.
Asia is now working as a trainer at a local computer school under Mirpur Pourashava of the district. She is getting about Taka 1000 to 1500 per month. She is planning to train more people on computer in her village.
Female students Shammi Akhtar of the eighth batch, Afroza Khatun and Mariam Khatun of the 7th batch of the centre who finished basic computer course said that they did not face any obstacle from their houses. Though they do not have any computer at their houses they take the scope of practice during "off time" in the centre. But they think that the computer training they got from "Dishari" will be more beneficial in their professional life. "Not only that the training will help us to get good jobs," Shammi remarked.
Among the computer literates produced by Dishari, some have got jobs in the areas of data entry, computer composition, video editing, CD writing and also as trainers in local computer schools. But all of them have not involved with computer related job as most of them are still students and
studying Higher Secondary level. Some of them are also aspiring to become computer software developer or doing diploma in computer. "My aim is to be a computer software developer,” said Imran Ahmed Sumon, a son of tobacco
farmer and an Intermediate student of Kushtia Sugar Mill Collegiate School.
Chechua, which is five kilometers away from Kushtia town is one of the remotest areas of the country where there was no standard centre for basic IT education two years back. British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BATB) who has their leaf threshing plant at Chechua, Kushtia decided to set up a basic IT education centre for rural talents of the area, particularly from their thousands of tobacco farmers. As a part of their corporate responsibility to society, BATB set up their IT school at Chechua in line with the government’s policy to spread IT education at grassroots level, said
Mahmudur Rahman, Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs of BATB.
Each batch of basic IT education centre is consisted of 12 students. Though the enrolment seems to be meager, the planner of Dishari programme Saood Bin Masood, Head of Culture, BATB considered it "manageable number for imparting effective basic IT education to those most of whom even never see computer before". About selection criteria Saood said that they gave priority on
candidates' interest for learning computer and English and basic logic of mathematics. The BATB has no involvement in case of examination and selection process of students and local teachers and relevant persons are engaged in these stages, he added. www.bangladeshobserveronline.com
