Like all over the world,schools and colleges in Bangladesh have been declared closed from March 16 toMarch 31. About 25 million children and adolescents (play to class 10) areunder house arrest in the country. As the government conducts online-based classesin schools and colleges, children between the ages of 4 and 14 are forced touse the internet. At the same time, the Bangladesh Mobile Phone SubscribersAssociation has raised questions about the security of the internet beinghanded over to tender-hearted children and teenagers even if they are kept athome.

Mohiuddin Ahmed,president of the organization, urged parents to be vigilant in this regard,saying the medium is not yet suitable for children and adolescents to use. Forthis reason, on May 8, the United Nations, the International TelecommunicationUnion (IEU), warned young children against using the Internet. They say thatabout 1.5 billion schools and colleges in the world are closed. They are usingthe internet to study, play sports, watch video games. By doing so, they aregoing to fall into cyber risk. Due to the lack of internet and devices inBangladesh, even if 50 per cent are out of the internet, the adverse effects ofthe internet on about 12 million children will still fall on them. At the sametime, the issue of excessive use of internet addiction cannot be ruled out.

"We are not awareof any initiative taken by the Ministry of Telecommunications to ensure thesafety of children in using the Internet and no policy has been formulated inthis regard," he added. The IEU is already going to make somerecommendations. We all know what we want to know about the internet as well asunwanted things. As a result, tender-hearted children know what they need toknow at an early age before developing their talents. At the same time, theycould put themselves and their families at cyber risk.