Union digital centres lack capacity

Establishment of union digital centres was a good initiative to provide rural people with technology services, but its benefits and effectiveness are yet to be achieved fully due to a shortage of institutional capacity and publicity, revealed a study yesterday.

According to the study conducted by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), 32 to 42 percent of the necessary electronics equipment in the centres like computers and printers are out of order.

Besides, 98 percent of the centres use SIM-based modems instead of high-speed broadband connections while only 38 percent have alternative power sources such as generators and IPSs, the study found.

The slow internet connection and interrupted power supply delay the service delivery and thereby cause sufferings.

TIB conducted the study between January 2016 and August 2017 on 105 such centers across the country as well as on 3,053 households in the union parishad areas.

Of the total people in the survey area, about 79 percent only know the names of the centres and have no idea about its services while among the beneficiaries only about 60 percent are satisfied with the services.

The centers can play important roles in terms of technological advancement in rural areas, so the government should take some strong and effective measures to solve the issues, the study recommended.

Besides addressing the aforementioned problems, the government should formulate a particular fixing service charges and profit sharing as well as preparing a guideline for appointing entrepreneurs to operate the centers, it suggested further.

The findings were reveled at a press conference in TIB office in the capital.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said if the government takes appropriate initiative soon, the centres will provide better services which will help the rural people get access to information and benefits of modern technologies.