About 94 crore rupees have been spent on the project in 10 years. The duration of the project is two and half years. In this situation, the Ministry of Education is thinking of announcing the end of the 'National Academy for Autism and Neuro-Developmental Disability Project (NAND)'. However, the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (MAUSI), which is implementing the project, wants to complete the rest of the project. The position of the two departments has created uncertainty about the future of the project.
Related sources say that if the project is declared complete now, the entire money spent will be recovered. The project started in July 2014 to mainstream children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Neuro Developmental Disability. If full-fledged autism academies are not established, efforts to mainstream children with autism and neurodevelopmental problems will be hampered. Apart from this, the training provided by the teachers will not be very useful.
If attention is drawn to the overall issue, Additional Secretary (Development) of the Secondary and Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Education. Hasan Maruf told Ajker newspaper that no final decision has been made yet. Decisions will be made after considering all matters.
Sources said that initially the cost of the two-year National Academy for Autism and Neuro-Developmental Disability project was estimated at Tk 74 crore 10 lakh. Later, when it was decided to add other things including setting up academy, training and awareness activities to the project, the period was extended by 11 years in three phases till June 2027. By revising the DPP, the cost was increased to Tk 730 crore 60 lakh 17 thousand. However, this project has faced various complications from the beginning. Initially, 2 acres of land of Ministry of Health in Mohakhali was allocated for the project, but it could not be acquired due to litigation related complications. Later 3.33 acres of land in Purbachal was finalized for the permanent campus. The project has not been worked on for a long time due to complications related to the appointment of consulting services, the rate schedule of the tender.
According to the project sources, till June 30 of this year, about 94 crore rupees have been spent on the project. This expenditure has been spent on training of teachers, meeting-seminars, campus management in rented houses and admission of students.
According to sources, the Ministry of Education is angry because the desired results have not been achieved in the project even after 10 years, which emerged in the minutes of the 16th meeting of the steering committee of the project on September 29. The meeting was presided over by the senior secretary of the ministry's secondary and higher education department. Sheikh Abdur Rashid. In the meeting, Additional Secretary (Planning) Syed Mamunul Alam pointed out that the desired results of the project have not been achieved and said that only training has been given through the project, there has been some financial progress. The main work of the project (construction of academic complex) has not started yet. In this situation, verbal instructions have been received from the advisor and senior secretary to suspend the project for the time being. As a result, it will not be viable to continue the project. Later in the meeting it was decided to declare the project completed leaving the work of the project unfinished.
However, on October 24, Maushi Director General Professor ABM Rezaul Karim wrote to the Senior Secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Department to allow the project to be launched and to call for tenders for the construction of the Autism Academy Complex. In the letter, it is requested to consider the issue of inviting tenders to establish a permanent campus on the previously allotted land to make the admitted students with autism and neurodevelopmental problems self-reliant. The letter also details the reasons behind the delay in project implementation.
The project director Professor Dr. admitted the uncertainty in the implementation of the project. Sudhanshu Ranjan Roy. He said that it was not possible to complete the project within the stipulated period due to various complications. Now all the complications have been overcome and the drawings, design and working drawings and tender documents of the academy complex have been prepared by the consultancy firm and given to the Directorate of Education and Engineering. Tenders for the main complex can be called after getting approval from the ministry.
