Education quality improvement project yet to get finished in 13 years

To address the growing demand for sustainable, technology-driven education, a project aimed at enhancing the quality of education in selected private colleges through information technology was approved by ECNEC in 2012. However, even after 13 years, the project remains incomplete. While overall costs have decreased, the timeline has been extended multiple times. Recently, a proposal to extend the project by an additional six months was made in its third revision.

The third revised and restructured Development Project Proposal (RDPP) for the project, titled "Development of Selected Private Colleges to Improve Education Quality Through Information Technology," was presented at a meeting of the Planning Commission’s Project Evaluation Committee (PEC).

Subsequent approvals included an initial revision by ECNEC, an extension of the project’s duration without cost adjustments by the Secondary and Higher Education Division, a second revision by the Planning Ministry, and further time extensions and budget reallocations by the Planning Commission and the Secondary and Higher Education Division. Currently, the project is ongoing with an estimated cost of BDT 5,568.60 crore, with a revised completion deadline of December 2024.

According to PEC sources, as of June, the cumulative financial progress of the project stood at 82.50%, while the actual implementation progress was at 88%. Under previous revisions, the project was scheduled to conclude by December 2024. However, the latest proposal suggests reducing the total estimated cost by BDT 151.76 crore to BDT 5,416.84 crore and extending the timeline by six months to June 2025.

The proposal cites several reasons for the extension, including the need to align the project document with the Ministry of Education’s directives for uniform multimedia classrooms, ICT labs, and other facilities in all educational institutions under the Secondary and Higher Education Division. Additionally, the supply and installation of integrated hardware, furniture for ICT labs, and maintenance work for classrooms and campuses in 804 remaining colleges out of 1,610 under the project require adjustments.

To date, ICT labs have been established in 907 colleges, with 703 colleges still pending. Furthermore, four new colleges will be added to the project, requiring the construction of buildings and the provision of multimedia classrooms, ICT labs, and furniture in compliance with the Ministry of Education’s instructions.

Project officials stated that factors such as population growth, socio-economic conditions, government development initiatives, implementation of scholarship programs at secondary, higher secondary, and undergraduate levels, and the high pass rates in SSC and equivalent exams have led to increased student enrollment in private colleges. However, the expansion of institutional facilities has not kept pace with this growth.

In this context, the project was initiated in 2012 to improve education quality in selected private colleges through the support of information technology, aiming to meet the growing demand for modern and sustainable education systems.