Dhaka: The government has initiated a project to construct 10 secondary schools across 10 upazilas in the haor regions of the country. The project is estimated to cost Taka 641.37 crore, with Tk 76,000 funded by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD). Superintendent Engineer Md. Asaduzzaman from the Department of Educational Engineering in Dhaka has been tasked with conducting a survey concerning this initiative.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the information was disclosed in a letter signed by Deputy Secretary of Planning-2 of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, SM Imrul Hasan, on June 18. The letter states that the Department of Education Engineering, under the Secondary and Higher Education Division, has appointed Md. Asaduzzaman as the ‘Project Director’ to assess the feasibility of establishing these schools in selected haor areas.
Sources in the Department of Education and Engineering reveal that a preliminary project proposal was submitted to the Planning Commission on April 9 of the previous year. This proposal aimed to implement the project in 423 haor-covered areas, including Kishoreganj, Netrokona, Habiganj, Sunamganj, Sylhet, Moulvibazar, and Brahmanbaria. A Project Evaluation Committee meeting, held on May 20, decided on engaging a neutral, skilled organization for the feasibility study and resubmitting the project documents to the Planning Commission. The study proposal has been crafted based on this decision.
Sources mentioned that in July of the previous year, representatives from the SFD mission urged the completion of the survey within three months during their visit to Bangladesh. Consequently, there was a request during the meeting to swiftly include the survey of the ‘Secondary Schools at Selected Upazila Sadar in Haor Area’ project in the current fiscal year’s ADP’s new unauthorized project list. The Education Adviser concurred with this proposal.
Md. Asaduzzaman informed BSS that the decision to establish the schools is aimed at bringing education to the underserved populations of the haor areas. A survey is currently in progress to determine the optimal locations and methods for establishing these schools.
According to sources in the Ministry of Education, the extensive haor area in Kishoreganj district comprises Ashtagram, Itna, Mithamoin, and Nikli upazilas. The residents of this vast 990,396-hectare region are significantly behind other areas in Bangladesh. The literacy rates in the seven unions of Ashtagram, eight unions of Itna, eight unions of Mithamoin, and eight unions of Nikli stand at 37.4 percent, 24.8 percent, 31.9 percent, and 23.9 percent, respectively, compared to the national literacy rate of 71 percent.