APRIL LAUNCH FOR (IT) LITERACY PROJECT
NIIT is consulting senior Bhutanese officials to fine-tune the concept, structure and anticipated impact of the Nu 2.05 billion IT literacy project that is slated for inauguration by the prime ministers of India and Bhutan on the sidelines of the SAARC summit in April.
“We are getting closer and closer to finalization,” Mr. Rajendra S. Pawar reported to the prime minister yesterday. “There is an enormous homework we have to do.”
The NIIT team met the chief justice, the speaker, the minister of economic affairs, the chief of police and the secretary of the GNH commission, among others, to take in their views. Others on its list include the home minister, the secretaries of educa¬tion and economic affairs ministries, and the chief election commissioner.
Lyonchhen Jigmi Y. Thinley said that the project must create an IT-enabled knowledge society that supports Bhutan’s vision of a green and sus¬tainable economy.
Bhutan’s economic ambitions such as harnessing its hydropower potential, building service hubs in finance, education and health, and revitalizing the hospitality industry must all be propped up by a human resource base that is grounded in IT skills.
“All these require ICT,” he said. We have to build a corpus of ICT profession¬als that makes Bhutan an attractive destination for investors.”
Reminding that the project must aim at promoting IT literacy from the highest level down to the person on the street, the prime minister said that it must be implemented quickly but only after it is formalized and approved with clear objectives, outputs, and outcomes.
The project document will be completed by the end of March and presented to a cabinet meeting which will be also be represented by key stakeholders.
The prime minister said the first batch of 200 seniormost officials to be trained (of the total of 7,000) should be chosen without discrimination to include executives of the corporate and private sectors, the armed forces, legislators, constitutional post holders, judiciary, local governments and even the clergy.
NIIT must imbibe a sense of ownership and responsibility to the stake¬holders, stimulate their interest and maintain enthusiasm, and provide a sense of satisfaction. It must also understand, appreciate and overcome the human resources constraints that exist in the country.
The prime minister asked NIIT to include the Bhutanese ICT industry as much as possible in the project, and to ensure that all Bhutanese schools, not just 168 schools identified, also benefit from the project.