<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today said that public universities in Bangladesh lagged behind in adapting to virtual or online class when the government tried to introduce it during the Covid-19 pandemic.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">“Let me share something regrettable. Our public universities were a bit slow in using the digital system in education during the pandemic period. They were far behind (compared to private universities),” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The Prime Minister said this while attending the inaugural programme of Digital Bangladesh Day 2022.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">ICT Division organised the programme at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) with the theme ‘Advanced Technology Inclusive Development’.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Sheikh Hasina said that during the pandemic, public universities expressed reluctance to go for online classes.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">“Private universities started that (online classes) quickly. But our public universities (did not), even Dhaka University (did not start promptly),” she said.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">She said that after repeated requests, public universities of the country introduced online classes.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">“That was the reality. When a system is beneficial to us, why should we not adopt that?” – she questioned.</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">If there were no ‘Digital Bangladesh’, what would have happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, she wondered. “Everything would come to a standstill.” UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>