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BangladeshKoreaICTTrainingCentreforEducation(BKITCE)
1.0Summary:
1.1Whatwasthisactivityabout?
Bangladesh embraced ICT as a matter of policy and set an aggressive strategy to make up
for the current lag and leapfrog into the ranks of top ICTready countries within a decade
through the adoption of its first ICT policy in 2002. Strengthening ICT capacity and
enhancingitsuseineverysectorofnationallifehasbeenprioritized.Inpursuancewiththe
primary objectives of the national ICT policy 2002 to foster knowledge based society,
Bangladesh Bureau of Education Information and Statistics (BANBEIS) of the Ministry of
Education,incollaborationwithKoreaInternationalCooperationAgency(KOICA)initiateda
project titled as 'Establishment of BangladeshKorea ICT Training Center for Education
(BKITCE).'TheProjectorchestratedthedesignofanappropriateITinfrastructurebysetting
up and operating a stateoftheart training center in the country. This was done by
launching five ICT labs in the renovated and remodeled BANBEIS computer division as the
centerofexcellence.
The BKITCE is a tiny but remarkable SouthSouth Cooperation (SSC) success story in
comparison to other SSC activities in other countries of South. This project has basically
sensitized the process of SSC at the country level. Therefore, the outcome can not be
measured by numbers; rather it demonstrates the successful beginning of the process of
suchkindofcooperation.
1.2Whatlessonsandpracticescanwelearnfromthisactivity?
The BKITCE project was first of its kind to exemplify the SSC in Bangladesh. The successful
implementationoftheprojectofferedacoupleoflessonsandexamplesofgoodpracticeon
theground:
Demanddrivenprojectactivitiesproducemaximumresults
Partnershipapproachismoreeffectivethandonorrecipientapproach
Effective knowledge exchange can bring together better experiences for both the
countries which can work as reference point or guideline in future SSC or even in
NorthSouthcooperation
Good blending of government ownership and joint supervision by both Govt. and
donorworksbetter
Recipientsneedisthemostpertinentbasisofcooperation
UnambiguousagreementcanensuresmoothimplementationandeffectiveM&E
1.3Howcouldpracticebeimproved?

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It is well acclaimed that the project achieved remarkable outputs that contributed to
commendable outcomes at the national level in the spread of ICT knowledgebase. But its
impactinthewidernationalcontext,regardlessofitssignificance,maynotbethatbig.The
5labbasedICTinfrastructureinBANBEIScanbeconsideredasaverygoodpilotinitiativein
the Ministry of Education. Yet, it has opened up opportunity for replication of similar
initiativesinothersectorswhichcanwellbeanimprovedwayoffosteringtheachievement
ofnationaltargetstohaveaknowledgebasedcitizenry.
It was a very tiny project with narrowly defined objectives and shortsighted targets. The
scope of integration of governments overall ICT objectives through vertical and horizontal
expansion could easily create much better synergy in the spread of knowledge and
technology.Intermsofmanagementoftheproject,activeparticipationofBANBEISinmajor
managementdecisionmakingprocesscouldenhancenationalcapacitydevelopmentrather
thanunderminingitthroughputtingBANBEISintotalisolation.
1.4Whatkindofpolicycouldimprovetheeffectivenessofthisactivity?
The project activities and their target outputs seem to be well befitting with national ICT
developmentstrategy.But,ontheground,BKITCEcomeouttofeatureasoneofthemany
standaloneprojectswithaverynarrowfocus.Theoutputsoftheprojectcouldbefoundto
reflectthenationalpolicyonlypartially.Theinitiativecouldbemademoreeffective,hadit
beenformulatedaspartofnationalICTpolicytoundertakesomeofthemajorcomponents
identified in the policy. There are many more such initiatives at different departments,
divisions and ministries, which should have been integrated with one holistic approach.
Similarly,thereshouldhavebeenfollowupofthisverysuccessfulinitiativetotakeittonext
level.
2.0Contextandbackground
2.1 Whatwas the relation and previous cooperation betweenthe partnersbefore
startingtheSSCactivity?
Since 1973, Bangladesh and South Korea have concluded eight agreements, which include
trade and economic cooperation, cultural exchanges, promotion and protection of
investments, and scientific and technological cooperation. South Korea has been a
significantdevelopmentpartnerinBangladesh,andmanyinfrastructureshavebeenbuiltby
SouthKoreancontractors.SouthKoreasofficialassistance,asof2008,amountedtoUS$340
million, spent on infrastructure development in railways, telecommunication, transmission
linesandegovernmentinfranetworkingsectors.Bangladeshisthesecondlargestrecipient
countryofSouthKoreanassistanceamong45countries.
By 2009, South Korea had provided $30 million as grant. Its assistance is directed toward
education,health,ICT,ruraldevelopmentandgovernancesectors.Ithasdonated$500,000
in the preparation of electoral roll for the countrys parliamentary election in 2008. Trade

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between the two countries has been growing, and light electronic goods and computers
fromSouthKoreaaremakinginroadsintotheBangladeshimarkets.

Bangladesh has a long trusted friendship with the Republic of Korea and it has focused on
someunattendedareaswiththeirresourcesandtechnologieswherenootherdonorshown
interestinthepast.BangladeshKoreacooperationisincreasingdaybyday.
2.2Whoand/orwhatwasthedrivingforceforsettingupthecollaboration?
Realizing the fact that the future of human society is inextricably linked with ICTs,
Bangladesh, like many other developing countries, recognizes the potential of ICTs as an
unprecedentedleverforeconomicemancipationaswellasanenablerforpovertyreduction
andhumandevelopmentbothofwhichareofequalimportance.
The Government of Bangladesh embraced Education sector as the ground root for
anchoring ICT as part of the policy for creating a knowledge and skill based society. The
lessons learnt from the existing BANBEIS programme with Educational Information
ManagementSystems(EIMS)andGISschoolmappingencouragedtheMinistryofEducation
to choose secondary and higher secondary school teachers for training as part of national
strategy to make up for entering into the league of top ICTready countries. Accordingly,
BANBEIS is identified as an institution of excellence to undertake the responsibility of
creating computer literategovernment staff to enhance ICT use inevery sector of national
life. In pursuance with national ICT objectives, BANBEIS was authorized to implement this
collaborativeprogramme(BKITCE)withKoreaInternationalCooperationAgency(KOICA).
Koreas development experience is remarkably rich in the area of human resources
development. As a development organization of Korea, KOICA also maintains the same
philosophy for its development activities and share Korean experiences with its
developmentpartners.Moreover,KoreascompetitiveedgeinICThasencouragedKOICAto
extend its collaboration for this project. Training of secondary and Higher Secondary
teachers within this project was a pioneering opportunity for Both KOICA and BANBEIS to
workasacatalystforquickspreadofICTeducationinBangladesh.
2.3 Why did the partners engage in the SSC activity, what were the interests and
incentives?Howwastheactivityrelatedtoforeignpolicyrelationsandagendas?
Bangladesh has been striving hard to keep pace with the rapidly changing and highly
demanding information technology in the education sector as well as spreading ICT
educationall over thecountry. The Republicof Korea,alreadybeingleaderin ICTsector in
the region, responded positively to the request of the Government of Bangladesh for
assistanceindevelopmentofthissectorbecauseofthefactthatitgenuinelymatchedwith
KoreasdevelopmentcooperationagendatheprovisionforBasicHumanNeeds(BHN)and
HumanResourcesDevelopment(HRD)focusingonneighboringcountriesintheAsiaPacific

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region. In pursuance with its foreign assistance policy to promote regional cooperation,
KOICA came forward to contribute in facilitating Bangladesh to achieve the objectives of
fostering ICT with financial and technical assistance to BANBEIS with establishment of
BangladeshKoreaICToutreach.
BANBEIS is an attached department of the Ministry of Education. The responsibility of this
organization is to collect, process, analyze and disseminates educational information and
statistics forall levels andtypes ofinstitutions in the country.This organizationisthe apex
bodyofEMISfortheMinistryofEducationandhasfunctionalrelationshipandinformation
exchangingsystemwithotherorganizationsoftheministry.
In this context, from an earlier request made by the government of Bangladesh, a
preliminarysurveyteamvisitedBANBEISandafteralongdiscussion,minutesofthemeeting
transformedintoasignedmemorandumontheprojectbetweentheGovernmentofKorea
and the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) on November 10, 2005. Further, Korean
Implementation Survey Team, organized by KOICA, visited Bangladesh from April 29
th
to
May5
th
,2006forthepurposeofdeterminingthedetailsoftheProject.
A Record of Discussion (R/D) was signed on May 04, 2006, between the Implementation
Survey Team of the Korea International Cooperation Agency and Bangladesh Bureau of
Education Information and Statistics (BANBEIS), Ministry of Education of the Peoples
Republic of Bangladesh. Later, this R/D was given the status of constituting agreement
betweenthetwoGovernments.
Although the cooperation initiative incubated in the idea of strengthening the capacity of
BANBEIS as the national ICT center for the education sector, the project perspective
eventuallytouchedthegroundbreakingGoBvisionofexpandinganddiversifyingtheuseof
ICTs to facilitate establishment of a transparent, responsive and accountable government
throughdevelopingskilledhumanresourcesuptograssrootlevelinthecountry.
The project concept was operationalized with such expected results as to anchor ICT
education as central point of cooperation between two countries of the Southern region.
Thetrainingtothecentralandfieldlevelofficials/staffaswellasteachersofthesecondary
andhighersecondarylevel,promotingGISapplicationtraining,postgraduatediplomainICT
courses,WebmasteringcourseandtrainingonEMIStothefieldlevelofficialsforpromoting
dataflowfromdistrictofficesaswellasestablishingandmaintainingDistrictEMISdatabase
operationwerecapturedasresultssubsetsfromtheimplementationoftheproject.
3.0TheSSCactivities
3.1Whatwerethepurpose,goal,expectedresultsandtimeframe?

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The project aimed at establishing Bangladesh Korea ICT Training Center for Education to
promoteskilloftheITrelatedteachersinthesecondaryandhighersecondarylevelthrough
refreshercourseinICTfieldspreadingITeducationuptograssrootlevelinthecountry.The
project also aimed at upgrading the Integrated Educational Management Information
System of BANBEIS and building up information network system among all offices of the
Ministry of Education, establishing Web based EMIS database and more optimistic GIS
school mapping system for management and decision making process. Also this project
aimedatconductingtrainingondatacollectionformat,databaseoperation,databasequery,
outputgenerationtothefieldlevelofficersandstaffsinthepostprimaryeducationsector
whereadecentralizedEMISisbeingestablished.
The expectation outlined in the project for the improvement and strengthening of the
educational management information systems (EMIS), GIS and ICT as well as spreading ICT
educationinthegrassrootlevelthroughrefreshertrainingtotheteachersofsecondaryand
higher secondary level institutions. As a result, enhanced contribution was expected to
sustainabledevelopmentofappreciableinformationbasedpolicyformulationandimproved
managementoftheeducationsectorforspreadingITliteracyprogramofthegovernment.
3.2 What challenges (financial, logistical, legal, transaction costs, etc.) were to be
overcome?
Thedevelopmentchallengeofthisprojectatthepointofcommencementwastoensurethe
adaptation and usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for being
increasingly linked to the national economic development and subsequent human
developmenttoparticipateintheinternationaleconomy,toexploitemergingtechnologies
forthebettermentofitscitizens,tomodernizeinstitutionsandmarkets.
Formulationofprojectdocument:Theformulation,developmentandimplementationofa
standalone project with Koreas assistance were a challenge by itself at the
commencement. An understanding of Bangladesh expectation, particularly the expectation
of BANBEIS in the project objectives by the Korean project Mission team and articulating
them into project objectives and outcomes was crucial. The BANBEIS management, senior
management of the Ministry of Education extended all out cooperation to the Mission to
understand Bangladesh needs in the midst of local culture and operational system and to
have an accurate costing for the project. The Mission also worked hard to capitalize the
extended cooperation from GoB side and to establish benchmark for creating a
managementsynergy at the operational levels. A very well articulated project document
cameoutfromthejointexerciseoftheKOICAMissionandtheirBangladeshicounterpart.
Project approval: Traditionally, project approval process with foreign assistance is quite
complex and cumbersome in Bangladesh. The influence of traditional development
administration mostly, characterized by a rulebased hierarchical style of management and

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strong reliance on ridged and complex procedures to achieve envisioned results causes
much delay in project approval process. This approach, however, promotes compliance
insteadofcreativityandinputorientationinsteadofresultsorientation.Further,itisrarely
conducive to foster efficiency and innovation. Structurally, a host of central government
agenciesareinvolvedindevelopmentadministrationcreatinganoverlycomplexprocess.
Fortunately,fortheBKITCEproject,theactiveparticipationoftheBANBEISandathorough
understanding of the project objectives and components by the Ministry of Education
helped not only in the formulation of a good project document but also in the quick
approvaloftheprojectbythePlanningCommission.
Project site management: As part of project logistic management, the mobilization of
resources from Korean side, including the Project Leader/finance and handover of the
BANBEIScomputerdivisiontotheKoreanteamwasquiteabigchallenge.Theproject,being
small,couldimmediatelysortouttheacceptanceofprojectleaderbytheGoB,management
andoperationalarrangementoffinanceandotherlogisticissues.Theprojectlaunchingwas
quitesmoothwithoutanymajorinterventionfromanyquarter.
Projectworkplan:Thebroaderaspectofworkplancoveredtherenovationofthebuilding
andtrainingofBangladeshistaff.BANBEISfacilitatedtheapprovalprocessoftherenovation
plan proposed the Korean team that greatly facilitated timely completion of building
structure. BANBEIS and the Ministry of Education systematically organized the human
resourcedevelopmentplanfortheprojectandcompletedtheselectionprocessoftheGoB
personnel for training in Korea in pursuance with Korean training schedule. The overseas
procurement process was handled by KOICA and necessary support was received from
differentgovernmentagenciesattheimportpointforalllabequipments.

3.3 How much did each partner invest in terms of financial, inkind and human
resources?
The total budget of the project was US$ 1.78 million. KOICAs contribution as Project Aid
was US$ 1.6 million, and Government contributed 0.18 million. The Government also
provided kind contribution in the form of appointing Project Director, IT officials & staff of
BANBEIS, project personnel, allocated premises at 4
th
floor of BANBEIS Building, taxes,
duties,leviesandotherequipment,materialsandsuppliesnecessaryfortheproject.
3.4Whatmodalitieswereused?
Modeoffinancing:

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Government: Custom Duty/VAT, Taxes, Levies & salaries of project staffs and officespace
forsettinguplabswereprovidedbyBANBEIS.
KOICA:DirectProjectAidasGrant
3.5Howweretherolesandresponsibilitiesdistributedamongthepartners?Who
wasdoingwhat?
Both, Government of the Republic of Korea and GoB agreed to cooperate each other in
performingthefollowingprojectactivities:
UndertakingsofRepublicofKorea/KOICA:
a)Renovationworkofbuildings&facilitiesofBANBEIS
b)ProvideandinstallequipmentandmaterialsfortheBANBEIS
c)TrainBangladeshiOfficialsandIndividualsinKorea
d)Dispatch of a Korean Project Manager and Experts to Bangladesh for technical
support
e)Othersupportingactivities
UndertakingsofBANBEIS:
a)Administrativemeasures
b)PreparefortherenovationofthebuildingsandfacilitiesofBANBEIS
c)Measures for the Provision of equipment and materials granted by the Korean
Government
d)MeasuresforInvitationtrainingoftheBangladeshitrainees
e)MeasuresfortheDispatchofKoreanExperts
f)Manpower(StaffandFaculty)
g)Otherexpenses,example:asKOICAdidbearallthecostsofinteriorandrenovation
works of the Project,itwas agreedthat BANBEIS procuredthe(i)Arc GIS SoftwareNet
Versionand(ii)OracleApplicationServerfromitsownfunds.
Monitoring,EvaluationandReporting:
The InterMinisterial Steering Committee headed by the Secretary, Ministry
ofEducationwasresponsibletomonitortheprojectactivities.

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KOICA was responsible to continue to work with the implementing agency
and review the implementation of the project jointly with the Ministry of
Education.
The project activities were monitored through work plan as per TPP and
annualplan.
KOICA was responsible to select a Supervision Contractor for the renovation
and remodeling works of BKITCE in consultation with BANBEIS. The
supervision contractor was also assisted to select contractor for renovation
works.
A joint team appointed by both KOICA and MOE were to undertake the
evaluation of the project. In accordance with the results of the assessment,
both governments were responsible to take necessary measures to address
matters, which may be mutually considered insufficient to achieve the
projectobjectives.
3.6Didtherelationbetweentheprovidingandthereceivingpartnerschangewith
thisexperience?Whyandhow?
The success of this project ensured complementarities in this sector and encouraged both
the host government/institution and Donor Agency to expand their ICT horizon and to
undertake another project for the establishment of ICT Training/ Resources Center for
Education at the grassroot level. The project is expected to facilitate ICT training of grass
root level education office staff in 128 Upazila by using the expertise of master trainer
already trained in BANBEIS. The wider horizon of predictability of fund requirement and
sourcesoffundforICTmainstreamingacrossthecountryisbeingnowwellconceived.
The Vision of BKITCE clearly depicted transforming forwardlooking relation between the
partners and interest in future collaboration. BKITCE visions for decentralization of BKITCE
through newly planned project titles Establishment of Upazila ICT Training/ Resources
Center for Education in 128 Upazilas of 64 districts, to be funded by EDCF, Korea as soft
loanthroughEXIMBankofKorea.OverallmanagementoftheprojectwasdonebyBKITCE,
BANBEIS as Project Head Office. The vision of the project is to train all teachers of the
country at the secondary and higher secondary level in ICT in a short span of time. The
visionofthisprojectisalsotodeliverICTservicesandaccesstoinformationtothestudents,
citizens at the grass root level which is one of the important steps of implementing e
GovernancesystemofthegovernmentandDigitalBangladesh.
3.7 What were the planned and unplanned benefits of the SSC experience for the
involvedstakeholders?
Although the cooperation initiative incubated in the idea of strengthening the capacity of
BANBEIS as the national ICT center for the education sector, the project perspective

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eventuallytouchedthegroundbreakingGoBvisionofexpandinganddiversifyingtheuseof
ICTs to facilitate establishment of a transparent, responsive and accountable government
through developing skilled human resources upto grass root level in the country. This
projectapproachsetexamplesofmanygoodpracticesforaccruingtangiblebenefits.Firstly,
ensuringadaptationwithlocalandregionalculturehelpscreatetrustandconfidenceamong
the stakeholders for the achievement of project objectives. Secondly, well defined
distribution of partys responsibility ensured quick decision making at respective level and
also quick disposal of the actions. Thirdly, the project approach set the ground for more
regional collaboration in the sense that understanding between stakeholders becomes
simpler and quicker. Fourthly, the success of the project created options for both vertical
andhorizontalexpansion.Sixthly,developmentskillslearnedbythepartnerswillcontribute
inupcomingSouthSouthprojectoreveninNorthSouthproject.Seventhly,WhileBKITECis
regarded as successful project South Korea can make use of this experience in future.
Eighthly, IT related trainings for the staff of other ministries are now being conducted in
BANBEIS which is contributing to an indirect impact on enhanced ICT knowledge for
implementingeGovernanceinthecountry.
3.8Arethesebenefitssustainableinthemediumandlongrun?
The sustainability of the project after its completion is ensured by the government by
accommodatingtheactivitiesintoGoBsrevenuebudgetfortrainingandmaintenance.
The project succeeded in the improvement and strengthened EMIS, GIS and ICT as well as
spreading the ICT education in the grassroot level through refresher training to the
teachers of Secondary and Higher Secondary Level Institutions with its bright objectives of
development the skill of professionals of BANBEIS. As a result, it ensured the sustainability
of the development of appreciable information based policy formulation and improved
management of the education sector and for spreading IT literacy program of the
government.
The project outline at the formulation level and the statement of outcomes after
implementation demonstrate broad based capacity development in ICTuse in the country.
ThecurrentICTlandscapebearsthe mark ofsignificant contribution ofBKITCEproject that
provided stateoftheart training centre with modern labequipments, customized
courseware, TOT and management support. Moreover, it facilitated government efforts in
mentoring toward building an ICTdriven nation comprising of knowledgebased society by
developing countrywide ICTinfrastructure and ICT human resources. It sensitized the
orientation for egovernance and eapplication for efficient management of resources by
promoting access to information through all sorts of online ICTenabled services that
eventually facilitated empowerment of people and enhance democratic values and norms
forsustainableeconomicdevelopment.

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4.Keychallenges
4.1OwnershipandMutualAccountability
As part of Bangladeshs strategic evolution for embarking on ICT based knowledge and
empowermenttoenterintotheclubofICTreadycountrieswithinadecade,BKITCEproject
transpired the GoB vision for building skill based human resources. The Government of
Korea, as part of its regional development cooperation, responded to Bangladeshs need
based request and eventually, the cooperation landed into a center of excellence in ICT
training. The Government of Korea and GoB were jointly responsible for managing the
project activities and achieving the following outputs to demonstrate observable impact
fromtheveryfirstSouthSouthCooperationinthecountry:
Establishment of an stateoftheart ICT training center in the education
sector;
Enhancement in ICT knowledge for implementing egovernance in the
countrythrough
demanddriventrainingoneapplicationindailyofficialworks;
Transfer of Korean technology regarding ICT training and courseware and
institutionbuildingcapacity;and
Involvement of women in ICT management through training and
participation.
The project document and management arrangement exhibited strong ownership of the
Government of Bangladesh for the implementation of national vision on ICT. BANBEIS, as
sponsoring institution, and the Ministry of Education, as the executing ministry took active
interest in every phaseof the project beginning with inviting the project appraisalmission,
project formulation, project approval and finally project implementation. The serious
interest on the part of the Ministry of Education encouraged BANBEIS to play a very vital
role in supporting the mission at the commencement and the implementation team
throughout the project period. Government ownership of the project transpired through
makingtheprovisionforhousingtheprojectwithinBANBEISandimmediatelyhandingover
projectsitetotheoverseasexpertteamimmediatelyaftersigningtheminutesofameeting
betweentwogovernmentsonthisproject.Theprojectimplementationreporttestifiesthat
throughout the project implementation phase there has not been any undue intervention
or any politically motivated move to influence any decision. KOICA, on the other
hand,spontaneously organized an appraisal mission by Korean International Survey Team.
The project was then quickly formulated, including project grant, on the basis of the
recommendations of the Team. A result based activity plan was designed on the basis of
joint recommendations by the Korean implementation survey team and BANBEIS. As the
implementation progressed, project activities and expected results were finetuned and
eventuallymaterializedwithcontinuinglessonslearnedattheground.Additionally,theGOB

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also responded positively and acted responsively by approving the Technical Project
Proforma/Proposal (TPP) almost simultaneously with Korean approval and allowing KOICA
to mobilize Korean experts to have access to BANBEIS premises for taking over the overall
charge of project implementation. The implementation of physical activities, including all
procurements,construction,renovationofBANBEISbuildingandinstallationofequipments
were done by international experts from Korea. The government provided all logistic
support and consultations where necessary. The training courseware and software were
made available by Korean experts in due time and the project was completed ahead of
schedule.
Korean Project Management Consultant was responsible for the implementation of the
work plan in consultation with GOB designated Project Director. Although staff selection
and nomination for training in Korea was the responsibility of BANBEIS and Ministry of
Education,theProjectManagementConsultantplayedaverysignificantroleinthisprocess
to ensure that only the appropriate person is sent for overseas training. The Project
ManagementConsultantalsoplayedasignificantroleinmakingsurethattheKoreatrained
personnel were able to work as fulltime staff in connection with ICT training and its
application.
BANBEIS, on the other hand, provided sufficient number of ICT instructors, experts,
administrativeandauxiliarypersonnelforcurriculumandcoursematerialdevelopmentand
consultation of EMIS and GIS. All necessary data, statistics and documents that were
necessaryforbringingoutputsfromthisprojectwereprovidedtotheprojectpersonnel.
The project attained 99.52% achievement in terms of componentwise physical and
economicprogressinaccordancewithProjectCompletionreportsubmittedtotheIMEDof
theMinistryofPlanningbytheMOE.Theevaluationamplifiedtheregionaleffortunderthe
banner South South Cooperationthat created opportunity in BANBEIS to establish state
oftheart labs to train government and non government employees and teachers from
grass root level. These teachers, in their turn, are playing their role in educating their
studentsandfellowcolleaguestohavetherightexposureinICT.HenceforthICTisengulfing
theheartsoftheruralsocietyandBangladesh'sdreamofadigitalBangladeshistakingform
stepbystep.ThisalsoisavividexampleofthepolicyissuesfromPRSP.
If this project were to be back tracked than the country systems of both Bangladesh and
Korea can be seen standing out visibly in terms of project implementation and monitoring
andevaluation.Thisprojectcanbeanexamplewherethebureaucracyhasbeenseentobe
avoidingtheseredtapeswhichultimatelyresultedinfasterimplementationoftheproject.
In respect of monitoring and evaluation both country systems have been reflected upon
prettywell. IncaseofBangladesh,anInterMinisterialcommitteewasformedheadedbya
Secretary for monitoring and evaluation of the project. On the contrary KOICA has its own
standardpolicyofevaluationandmonitoring.Tomonitortheprojectwell,KOICAingeneral

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appointsaProjectManagementConsultant(PMC)forthepropermonitoringoftheproject.
In respect of evaluation they have their standard policy to evaluate their projects under
threedifferenttimelines.TheyareMidterm,CompletionEvaluationandPostEvaluation.
ThisSSCprojecthadtoundergoeachoftheproceduresmentionedabove.
From the literature review and the interviews conducted it is pretty clear that a well
planned TPP (Technical Project Plan) was the driving force of the smooth sailing
implementationoftheproject.MutualAccountabilitywasensuredfromallanglesincluding
curriculumdesignandinstructorselection.
4.2Transparencyandinformation
Transparency was ensured in the project through compliance with management guidelines
outlinedintheTPPoftheproject.Theprojectwasprimarilyevaluatedbyajointcommittee
appointedbybothgovernments(Korea&Bangladesh).Apartfromthisjointcommittee,the
BangladeshGovernmentformedanInterMinisterialSteeringcommitteeforthemonitoring
oftheproject.Ontheflipside,KOICAappointedasupervisioncontractorfortherenovation
of the remodeling work of project site. KOICA, in general, appoints a Project Management
Consultant (PMC) for the proper monitoring of the project. KOICA maintained their own
timeliness to evaluate their projects. They are Midterm, Completion Evaluation and Post
Evaluation.ThisSSCprojectunderwentallthesesteps.
All payments were made phase wiseby KOICA through BANBEIS after submission of the
original invoices by the local contractors to BANBEIS with a copy to KOICA. The payments
were made under two mandatory conditions. Among them, one condition was that the
budgetwouldnotexceedtheroughsketchoftheoriginalbudgetpreparedandsecondlythe
quality of the work done had reached the satisfaction of both KOICA and BANBEIS. This
actually reflects upon the transparency and information of the project. Inspite of the
presence of bureaucratic practices and political influences involved in a more clich of a
project,itcansafelybeacknowledgedthatthetransparencyandinformationchallengewas
wellmanagedinthisproject.Intheimplementationphase,thebureaucracywasratherkind
toward this project. This could be identified from the completion of the project. Under a
morestereotypedscenariotheredtapeismwouldberathersternandthecompletiontime
wouldberatherelongated.Therefore,theleveloftransparencycanbevividlysensedfrom
this. The selection procedures of the instructors and the officials to proceed to Korea for
trainingwereadeptandtransparentwithoutanypoliticalinvolvementwhatsoever.
BANBEIS website (www.banbeis.gov.bd) worked and in fact working as the hub of the
dissemination of the project information. But, being an ICT project it failed to use web 2.0
tools for information broadcasting and communication. Selection of trainees and other
official communication between BKITEC and educational institution took place via postal

13
service.TherewasnothingmentionedintheTPPaboutinformationmanagementwhichcan
bedrawnasoneoftheweaknessesoftheproject.
4.3Developmentchallenges
SustainabilityoftheprojectwastosafeguardcertainconditionsunderwhichGoBisobliged
to fund the project though fiscal (budgetary) allocation for the management of
programmes.Ifthisisdonesuccessfullythenthe sustainability of this project canbe easily
ensured.
By virtue of the establishment of BKITCE in BANBEIS, a gradual transformation could be
observed in the overall perspective of Bangladesh ICT under cover of Korean technology.
Takingadvantageofthispositiveexperience,KOICAandtheGoBsignedfurtheragreements
under which 128 ICT centers will be established in different Upazilla's in the rural districts.
The trainee's receiving training at the ICT centers are playing their role in sharing their
experience with their students and fellow colleagues to push the country into a digital
nationbypreparingcitizenrytechnologicallyforfuturechallengesandatthesametimethe
beneficiaryoftheprojectwillhavetheirprivilegeofbetteremployment/employmentahead
ofothers.
BangladeshKoreaICTTrainingCenterforEducation(BKITCE)becameamodernICTTraining
center fully equipped with StateoftheArt Technology for industry standard Human
Resource Development in ICT to meet the national and international demand. Evidently,
BANBEISwasstrengthenedasthecenterofexcellenceinICTtrainingwith5(five)computer
labs, modernize EMIS and Training Division with interior and exterior refurbishment and
necessaryequipments.TheITProfessionalsofBANBEISweretrainedinKoreainthefieldof
IT related master training course, EMIS and GIS. In an effort to transfer knowledge and
technology, specialized services from Korean experts acquired to develop demand driven
standardcoursemodules,materialsandimprovementofGISandEMISsystem.
Practical knowledge in ICT education and training acquired through study visit in Korea as
partofexpansioninthehorizonofevision.Monitoringandevaluationindicatorsdeveloped
and knowledge of practical application of those indicators acquired through broad based
interaction with Korean experts at home and abroad. After being fully equipped with
courseware and labware, quality training on ICT applications has been provided to the
teachers of secondary and higher secondary level with existing need based curriculum and
modern techniques of ICT. More than 10000 teachers, officials and staff have already
receivedtraining.ItwasfollowedbyrefreshercoursesfortheICTsubjectbasedteachersat
the secondary and higher secondary level. Every effort has been made to promote ICT
related training programmes across the government for ensuring effective use of created
facilitieswithinBANBEIS.

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Operational training courses on GIS to the teachers ofTechnical Institutions and Education
Database Management System has been provided to the national and field level officials.
The project was quite successful in attracting large number of midtosenior level
government officials from other ministries for ICT training. The project achievements
facilitated consolidation of the theme of mainstreaming ICT education and training across
the government and opened up the door for anchoring the theme into GOBs vision of
DigitalBangladeshby2021.
IT related trainings for the staff of other ministries are now being conducted in BANBEIS
whichiscontributingtoanindirectimpactonenhancedICTknowledgeforimplementinge
Governanceinthecountry.
The participation of the Government of Korea in GoBs effort to expand and diversify the
use of ICT to establish a transparent, responsive and accountable government; develop
skilled human resources; ensure costeffective delivery of citizen services and facilitate the
nationalgoalofbecomingamiddleincomecountryby2021demonstratedthetruespiritof
SouthSouthcooperation.Theprojectdesignwithsuchobjectivesofimprovingthecapacity
ofBangladeshICThumanresourcesamplifiedtheprincipleofalignmentwithGoBpriorities.
TheanchoringoftheprojectinputwithintheexistingBANBEISICTdomainandremodeling
of operation and management arrangement of project input reflected the basics of well
perceivedharmonization.
The project outline at the formulation level and the statement of outcomes after
implementation demonstrate broad basedcapacity development in ICT use in the country.
ThecurrentICTlandscapebearsthe mark of significant contribution ofBKITCEproject that
provided stateoftheart training centre with modern labequipments, customized
courseware, TOT and management support. Moreover, it facilitated government efforts in
mentoring toward building an ICTdriven nation comprising of knowledgebased society by
developing countrywide ICTinfrastructure and ICT human resources. It sensitized the
orientation for egovernance and eapplication for efficient management of resources by
promoting access to information through all sorts of online ICTenabled services that
eventually facilitated empowerment of people and enhance democratic values and norms
forsustainableeconomicdevelopment.
4.4 TriangularCooperation
The BKITCE project can be perfectly considered as a demand driven project which formed
thebasisforeffectivetriangularcooperation.Thetransactioncostoftheprojectwasscaled
up through longterm investments and stable partnerships. The success of this project
ensured complementarities in this sector and encouraged both the host
government/institution and Donor Agency to expand their ICT horizon and to undertake
another project for the establishment of Upazila ICT Training and Resource Centre for

15
Education (UITRCE). The project is expected to facilitate ICT training of grassroot level
educationofficestaffin128Upazilabyusingtheexpertiseofmastertraineralreadytrained
inBANBEIS.Itisverymuchvisiblefromtheprojectthatboththepartnerswereinwinwin
position, learned from each other and improve their capacities which will help them in
futureimplementation.
5.Lessonslearned
TheTaskTeamonSouthSouthCooperation(TTSSC),aSouthernledplatformhostedatthe
OECDDAC,bringstogetherpartnercountries,middleincomecountries,donors,civilsociety,
academia, regional and multilateral agencies under a common objective of collecting,
analyzing and disseminating evidence on the synergies between the principles of aid
effectivenessandthepracticeofSouthSouthCooperation(SSC).
Good blending of government ownership and joint supervision of both Govt. and donor
works better. A very commendable synergy was observed in the implementation of the
project from conceptualization through ultimate completion of the project activities. The
BANBEIS and the KOICA responded to each other in the most effective way to produce
action plan, fine tune it as it progress and eventually obtain results. The governments
strong willingness to have stateofthe art ICT infrastructure in BANBEIS and to have a
trained human resources set up prompted timely decision in every aspect of project
activities. So, partnership approach is more effective than donorrecipient approach and
unambiguousagreementcanensuresmoothimplementationandM&E.
Demanddrivenprojectactivitiesproducemaximumresults.InpursuancewithGovernment
ofBangladeshvisiontobecomeamiddleincomecountryby2021,capacitydevelopmentin
all spheres of national life has been prioritized and ICT knowledgebased human resource
developmenthasbecomethethrustsector.ThegovernmentrealizedtheneedforgoodICT
infrastructure for its people to have adequate opportunity for skillbased education. The
requestforupgradedICTlabinBANBEIS withKOICAistheresultofsuchrealization,which
eventuallytransformedintoseriousnessduringimplementationoftheproject.
Regional cultural orientation well facilitates adaptation. The culture and heritage of the
regioninmanagingforeignaidedprojectfacilitatedquickadaptationofthecountrysystems
inbothsides.Preparationoftrainingmodulefortrainersandgovernmentstaffwasgreatly
facilitated by the preexisting understanding of the country specific context and needs.
Tailormade curriculum and culture specific implementation model helped the trainee to
adaptquicklyandquiteeasily.Korea,beingoneofthemostadvancedcountriesofthesouth
in ICT, and one which understands the peculiar development landscape of Bangladesh
provided better targeted solution and could lend more support. Effective knowledge
exchange can bring together better experiences for both the countries which can work as

16
reference point or guideline in future SouthSouth Cooperation or even in NorthSouth
cooperation.
Annexes
Listofintervieweesandparticipantsinworkshop

1. Mr. Md. Mofazzal Hossain (PD), System Manager, BANBEIS, Ministry of

Education,Email:banbeis@bdcom.com/
2. Mr. Md. Abu Taher Khan (APD), Programmer, BANBEIS, Ministry of Education,
Email:banbeis@bdcom.com/khan01_1234@yahoo.com
3. Mr, Lee, Jungwook, Residential representative, KOICA Office in Bangladesh,
koilee@koica.go.kr
4. Mr.AbdullahAlMamun,DeputySecretary,ERD,MinistryofFinance
5. Mr.SamsulAlam,DeputySecretary,AidEffectivenessUnit,ERD
6. Mr.MonowarAhmed,JointSecretary,AidEffectivenessUnit,ERD
7. Mr.AltafHossain,DeputyChief,IMED,MinistryofPlanning
8. Mr.SapanKumarGoash,DeputyChief,MinistryofEducation

Referencesandbibliography
1. Case story Korea Bangladesh ICT Training Centre for education, March
2010,producedforTTSC
2. RevisedTechnicalAssistanceProjectProforma/Proposal(TPP),2007,Established
ofBangladeshKoreaICTTrainingCentreforEducation(BKITCE),20062009
3. BANBEIS Publication no. 382/2007,September 2007, ICT Traning to the
GovernmentOfficials
4. BANBEIS Publication no. 389/09, March 2009, BangladeshKorea ICT Training
CentreforEducation(BKITCE)Brochure

17
Acronyms
BANBEIS BangladeshBureauofEducationInformationandStatistics
BHN BasicHumanNeeds
BKITCE BangladeshKoreaICTTrainingCenterforEducation
CD/VAT CertificateofDeposit/ValueAddedTax
EDCF EconomicDevelopmentCooperationFund
EIMS EducationalInformationManagementSystems
GIS GeographicalInformationSystem
GoB GovernmentofBangladesh
HRD HumanResourcesDevelopment
ICT InformationandCommunicationTechnologies
IMED Implementation,MonitoringandEvaluationDivision
IT InformationTechnology
KOICA KoreaInternationalCooperationAgency
M&E MonitoringandEvaluation
MOE MinistryofEducation
PMC ProjectManagementConsultant
PRSP PovertyReductionStrategyPaper
R/D RecordofDiscussion
SSC SouthSouthCooperation
TOT TrainingofTrainers
TPP TechnicalProjectProforma/Proposal
UITRCE UpazilaICTTrainingandResourceCentreforEducation