The ICT division, Robi and 10 Minute School -- an online school -- are going to work together for promoting digital education in the country.

A tripartite agreement was signed among these organisations yesterday at the Janata Tower Software Development Park in Karwan Bazar, Dhaka, according to a statement.

The ICT department's Director General Banamali Bhowmick, Robi's Chief Corporate and People Officer Matiul Islam Nowshad and 10 Minute School's Founder and CEO Ayman Sadiq signed the agreement on behalf of their organisations.

State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak and ICT Division's Secretary Shyam Sunder Sikder were also present.

Under the agreement, students of the government's 2001 digital labs and more than 30,000 multimedia classrooms across the country will get access to quality education content.

The three parties will also offer nano-degree programmes in ICT division's training facilities and in the high-tech parks around the country.

Nano-degree is a course of study which is much shorter than a university course and focuses on the skills one needs for a job, especially computer-related skills.

Robi and 10 Minute School will introduce their digital education content to the youth taking part in the 'learning and earning' shows organised by the ICT division. 

Palak, the state minister, said: “Access to quality digital education content forms a key part of the process of realising the Digital Bangladesh vision.”

Robi's Nowshad said: “The future of our youth lies in its ability to leverage the benefits offered by the digital technology. Considering the country-wide reach of our network, we felt that it makes sense to impart quality digital education content over the internet for the benefit of our youth.”

10 Minute School's CEO Sadiq said the youth are increasingly becoming comfortable with the use of the internet. “All we need to do is to provide them with the right kind of content so that they make the best use of the internet.”

10 Minute School is a site through which students can learn from the tutorials (1,411 videos with over seven million views) and live classes, monitor their progress, and compare with their peers and others.

The school also broadcasts live classes every day using the Live feature of Facebook.