Move to establish 160 upazila ICT centres

The government is going to set up 160 upazila ICT training and resource centres with all necessary facilities to train up the teachers of secondary level educational institutions.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the "Establishment of 160 Upazila ICT Training and Resource Centre for Education (UITRCE), 2nd phase," project with Taka 8.42 billion.

The project was approved at ECNEC meeting on Tuesday at NEC conference room at Agargaon in Dhaka.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, also ECNEC chairperson, presided over the meeting.

Emerging from the meeting, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal briefed journalists about the meeting.

The minister said Tuesday's ECNEC meeting approved thirteen development projects at a combine cost of Tk 124.15 billion.

"Out of the total project cost, Tk 118.23 billion will come from the state exchequer while the rest of Tk 5.93 billion from the external resources as the project assistance," he said.

Among the other projects, the “Vertical expansion of the selected non-governmental secondary schools” at a cost of Tk 19.90 billion was the remarkable one.

Talking about the ICT centre project, the minister said, the Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) under the Secondary and Higher Education Division will implement the project by June 2020.

The Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) of South Korea is funding partner of the project.

The soft-term loan bears a very simple interest rate of 0.1 per cent which will be repaid in 40 years with a 15-year grace period.

Under the project, some 160 upazila ICT Resource and Training Centres, each having a two-story building, would be set up in some 125 upazilas.

The planning minister also disclosed the progress of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) during the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year with the implementation rate witnessing 27.02 per cent having an overall expenditure of Taka 443.31 billion.

BSS says, the implementation rate during the first half of the last fiscal was 27.20 per cent with an expenditure of Taka 335.54 billion.

Ministers, Planning Commission Members and high officials of ministries concerned were present at the meeting.

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