Objective

To empower underprivileged youths through computer literacy training and technology-aided education.

Background

To pursue higher studies and avail jobs in modern digital era, one needs to have a good grasp of computer literacy and technology. Along with many countries, Bangladesh has also taken initiatives to integrate technology and computer literacy skills into its education system. However, technology isn’t easily accessible to the underprivileged community of the country. Due to the technological gap and discrimination, the underprivileged youth lack access to technology, ICT materials, and trained teachers. As a result, underprivileged youth struggle for years to gain empowerment and better-paying jobs in their careers. In order to address and eradicate this issue, Dnet initiated the Computer Literacy Program with the mission of empowering underprivileged youth through computer literacy training and technology-aided education.

Approach

CLP has progressively produced innovative programs to eradicate the digital divide between the underprivileged and affluent students and advance their educational excellence. In accordance with its mission, CLP introduced the Computer Literacy Center (CLC) program in 2004 to enable underprivileged youth to achieve digital literacy. A CLC is a computer lab run by trained teacher(s) who provide free training to the students. Our team certifies and trains instructors, creates educational materials to be consumed digitally, and enables remote learning opportunities. The innovative program, Smart Classroom (SCR), assists secondary school students with digital resources such as personal computers, the internet, instructional CDs, and ICT-based interactive learning lessons. In addition to that, several other programs under CLP-Connecting Students around the World (C-SAW), Education through Entertainment (EE), Remote Voluntary Teaching, etc., also help the underprivileged youth develop their computer and communication skills while improving their academic performance. The Computer Literacy Program is one of the strongest programs of Dnet. The ongoing project is impacting the lives of many people through its efforts. As of January 2022, CLP has established 287 CLCs and 184 SCRs in 55 districts of Bangladesh. As of September 2021, CLCs have trained around 130,000 students, with 50% of those being females.

Project link: https://clpweb.org/