A government project aimed at establishing 10 secondary schools near Dhaka city, initially scheduled for completion in three years, has now been delayed by a decade, with not a single school finished. The project, approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in November 2017, was originally set to conclude by June 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, its timeline was extended by one year.
Despite multiple extensions, the project has seen little progress. The deadline was further extended until June 2022, then again by another two and a half years. By December 2024, the project’s timeline had stretched to seven and a half years, yet no schools were completed. As of March 2025, the project has been delayed once more, with the new completion date set for June 2027, marking a total delay of 10 years.
The project, which is expected to cost approximately 803 crore taka ($75 million), aims to improve educational infrastructure near Dhaka by providing modern facilities for secondary and higher secondary students. However, land acquisition issues have significantly hindered progress. At present, six of the planned schools have completed land acquisition, but construction has yet to commence at the other sites.
Project stakeholders said that the construction work of three schools is nearing completion. Due to complications related to land acquisition, there has been no progress as expected due to the passage of a long time.
However, education stakeholders said that in addition to land-related complications, the project is also being delayed due to inefficiency in project management.
The project aims to expand educational facilities for students at the secondary and higher secondary levels, provide infrastructure and educational materials to enable students to cope, meet the needs of quality education, and improve the qualitative and quantitative standards of education.
Through this project, it has also been said that a 10-storey academic building, a Shaheed Minar, a gymnasium and a guardian shed will be constructed for each educational institution. The boundary wall and gate of the institution will also be constructed under it. In terms of the financial progress of the project, as of the end of 2024, the project has spent 272 crore taka, or 36.36% of the initial budgeted cost.
This financial progress rate is also disappointing as the progress of the project is not satisfactory. Even though seven and a half years have passed since the start of the project, the project officials have not been able to complete the construction of a single school so far. However, it is known that the land acquisition of six schools has been completed and construction work is underway. The land acquisition and land development work of the rest have not been completed yet. Therefore, construction work could not be started.
Mir Zahida Nazneen, director of the project to establish 10 government secondary schools near Dhaka city, said that the roof casting work of the ninth floor is underway in one school. The eighth-floor roof pouring work is underway in two schools. We hope that academic activities will be started in these three schools next year.
She said that since the project sites are located around Dhaka city, there are more complications related to land acquisition. A lot of time passes in verifying the feasibility of the land. Apart from this, there are also complications related to litigation. She said that the site has to be changed in some projects time and again.
Rasheda K. Chowdhury, an adviser to the former caretaker government, told Bangladesh Pratidin, "We notice that various infrastructure projects are taken up but then there is a lot of delay in them. This is unexpected. Despite the cost of the project, we do not see the expected progress. I think there is also inefficiency of the project officer. These project works are also delayed because many people do not have the skills required to implement the project.”
(Translated by Tanvir Raihan)
