NTA to Train Senior Citizens on ICT and Telecommunications

NTA will soon organize a training program for senior citizens on the uses of ICT and telecommunication services.  The telecom regulator has invited the consultant companies for their Expressions of Interests to head start the digital literacy campaign.

The program will run for 30 days in all seven provinces. It will make older citizens aware of the uses of devices and technologies common in their daily lives.

The interested consultants shall deliver their application online through the e-GP system www.bolpatra.gov.np/egp EGP only on or before 26-01-2022.

As is customary, NTA will judge the firms on qualification 50.0%, Experience 40.0 %, and Capacity 10.0 %. The minimum score to pass is 60%. Following this, NTA will invite shortlisted companies for their technical and financial proposal.

Also read: NTA to Establish WiFi Connection at Manaslu Circuit

About NTA’s ICT Training Program

According to the Census 2068 BS, senior citizens in Nepal count for a total of 8.13%. But their knowledge of information and technology is limited. Worse, this population has not been part of local development programs even if they are willing and physically capable. And the senior citizens are dependent on their younger family members and others even for their daily activities. This has thus struck an emotional trauma on older demography affecting their mental state.

To compensate for the situation arising from the lack of ICT knowledge, NTA has arranged for the digital literacy program “Training for Senior Citizens for the usage of ICT & Telecommunication Facility”.

The campaign will familiarize senior citizens with the general and most common devices and technologies related to ICT and telecommunications. This will enable them to carry out basic calls, messages, or run service apps on their own.

Also read: NTA to Develop a Billing Monitoring System of Mobile Services

Objectives and Scopes of the Training

The program mainly aims at:

• Providing training senior citizens from one district each from different provinces about ICT and telecommunications useful in everyday lives, 
• Provide information about communication facilities and the misuses of ICT, and
• Contribute to the ethos of the Digital Nepal Framework.

The training program will run for 30 days. The consultant will be responsible for the design of the training course material and must seek approval from the regulator. The program should target basic literate senior citizens from one district each from seven different provinces in the training.

The key focus of the training will be on the usage of the internet, web browser, mobile banking, citizen app, and other digital services by the local and federal institutions.

Check out: Nepal Government to implement Integrated ICT Policy

The old aged people have tremendously fallen behind in the ICT part of modern lives. As societies shift digital, the older generation will be further behind. In this, the digital literacy program will help them keep up with their daily lives without depending on younger family members.

What is your perspective on the ICT training campaign by NTA? Should they widen its scope further or arrange such programs more to narrow digital drive among the age groups? Do leave your opinions below in the comments.