Larger populations are often believed to generate bigger pools of talent, a common assumption. Bangladesh has a large population, so it’s reasonable to think we have a substantial talent pool. However, it doesn’t always align with this idea, but with the right strategies, this common belief can become a reality. It’s achievable.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, about 68.34 percent of the population lives in rural areas; these residents are acutely aware that education is an essential tool for securing better jobs. Most rural households, though, face poverty and cannot afford their children’s educational expenses. Consequently, they grudgingly capitulate to their children’s potential educational attainments. This is an ineffable despondency for the parents.
Rural students have the enormous potential to work in the globally demanding field of computer programming which requires coding skills. To gain coding skills, education and training are needed. The vast number of rural students cannot reap the benefits because they are not given the opportunity to learn coding. But such an opportunity can be globally transformative.
Bill Gates, for example, learned coding skills at the age of thirteen through an opportunity he had while a high school student at Lakeside. According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of Outliers, the mothers’ club at Lakeside School created an opportunity for Bill Gates and other students to learn computer programming through the annual rummage sales.
The mothers invested $3,000 to buy a Teletype, a time-sharing terminal with a direct link to a mainframe computer in downtown Seattle. The installation of the Teletype opened up the opportunity for Bill Gates to learn coding. And the rest is history.
Therefore, deprivation of opportunities ruins the earning potential. In fact, it utterly blocks an entire career development. The potential of the vast pool of rural students should not go to waste. Learning coding is not an insurmountable task. The internet has plenty of resources for learning to code. A computer is required to learn coding.
If the learning steps are shown, most of the students will be able to learn. According to psychologist Anders Ericsson, who is famously known for his ten thousand hours rule research, to be an expert in any chosen field, practice of ten thousand hours produces the optimal expertise. This is a heartening news for students who are skeptical about their learning abilities.
The skills development is not a new idea. The question is: how can the skills be developed? First of all, to be proficient in computer skills, one must have access to a computer to learn on. Buying a computer for most rural indigent students is almost impossible. Most parents would be unable to spend around 50,000 Taka on a computer for their children. Thus, an interest-free loan scheme for computer purchases for rural indigent students must be considered.
If the loan is amortised over 7 years or 84 payments, the payment would be around 600 Taka. Annually, 2 skipped payments without a penalty should be allowed to prevent defaults. This would serve as a buffer for borrowers with unstable incomes.
Having just a computer is not the entire solution to learning to code. It would also need Wi-Fi access. Thus, the government must invest in providing free Wi-Fi connections in every household in rural areas. If this investment is made, students would benefit significantly from their computer learning.
Critics may think that the interest-free loan scheme for rural Bangladeshi students is an outlandish concept. However, their resistance would disappear when they are shown the example of the Chinese government investment that benefited and uplifted their citizens.
There is a Chinese proverb that says, “If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want ten years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want a hundred years of prosperity, grow people.”
Following the ‘grow people’ model, the Chinese-made electric vehicles have earned enormous plaudits worldwide. It is creating significant benefits for green energy and contributing to an eco-friendlier environment. Most consider the electric vehicle a global public good for the future. The Chinese government incentivised the production of electric cars. And its outcome is now staggering.
The world is drawn to their brilliance in producing electric vehicles at a lower cost. Thus, it is better to emulate a model that delivers results. The business community follows the best industry practices. This notion must be factored in before scoffing at a computer-purchasing loan scheme.
Investments for rural students require substantial funding. The problem with the investment is the limited resources. To increase funding, one way is to raise funds through a payroll tax.
In Canada, for example, all employers deduct Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI), and income tax from an employee’s paycheck. These three deductions are mandatory. Income tax deductions depend on an employee’s income. The more someone earns, the more tax is deducted.
This idea can be replicated in Bangladesh as well. For instance, employees earning more than Tk40 thousand will be required to pay a payroll tax of 2% or 3% of their gross income for the educational development of rural students.
Most employees understand that rural students with free Wi-Fi at home and a computer will experience notable gains in their learning outcomes. Therefore, they are willing to contribute a small part of their salaries to benefit these students and help build a better future for Bangladesh.
Policy makers must be persuasive in convincing people of this concept because most people have an aversion to paying taxes; despite this, citizens of developed countries still pay payroll taxes.
The first step of any initiative is challenging. Writer Mark Twain says, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” Furthermore, Lao Tzu says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Therefore, a willingness to take that initial step in providing a laptop purchasing loan for rural students is essential. If this effort is undertaken, rural students would be benefited unambiguously.
The writer is a Payroll Compliance Practitioner based in Vancouver, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]
