Support to Higher Education Development (ADB-59335-001)

Regions
  • South Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Bangladesh
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Financial Institutions
  • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
U
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Dec 3, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Bangladesh - Ministry of Education
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Education and Health
  • Technical Cooperation
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 0.50 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 0.50 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ ADB website

Updated in EWS Feb 25, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Dec 10, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the Bank’s website, the proposed technical assistance (TA) will (i) provide implementation support to ongoing Improving Computer and Software Engineering Tertiary Education Project (ICSETEP) and (ii) support the preparation and initial implementation of Strengthening Agricultural Tertiary Education Project (SATEP) under higher education subsector, and preparation, and (iii) support preparation of Strengthening Pharmaceutical Regulatory and Research and Development Capacity Project. The areas to cover in project implementation support are procurement, contract management, financial management, environment and social safeguards. For supporting project preparation, the proposed TA will cover due diligence of ADB's five strategic focus areas including climate action, private sector development, regional cooperation and public goods, digital transformation, and resilience and empowerment. To facilitate project approvals and better project design, it will support preparation and approval of development project proforma/proposal (DPP), and capacity building of the executing and implementing agencies for improved project design and management. The TA will also support the government's initiatives in enhancing teaching and learning experience in public universities for agriculture, computer science, software engineering and information technology and encouraging research and innovation as well as academic-industry collaboration.

The key activities will involve the following:

(i) enhancing ICSETEP implementation capacity, (ii) conducting due diligence for SATEP, and Strengthening Pharmaceutical Regulatory and Research and Development Capacity Project; (iii) improving project readiness and timely approval of SATEP DPP; (iv) supporting knowledge events, e.g., workshops, study visits for teachers and students engaged in agriculture, computer science, software engineering and information technology; and (v) enhancing the exposure of teachers and students to international and national experts in knowledge-sharing events on agriculture, computer science, software engineering and information technology.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

According to the Technical Assistance Report, the Risk Categories are:

Environment: Not Applicable
Involuntary Resettlement: Not Applicable
Indigenous Peoples: Not Applicable

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

The TA financing amount is $500,000, which will be financed on a grant basis by ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund (TASF 8).

The government will provide counterpart support in the form of counterpart staff; data collection; venues for meetings and events; review of reports submitted by consultants; participation in training sessions, workshops, and knowledge events; office space and supplies; secretarial and coordination assistance; and other in-kind contributions.


Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Project Officer: Faiza Ahad
Designation: Project Officer (Education) - Asian Development Bank
Email: fahad@adb.org

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit an information request for project information at: https://www.adb.org/forms/request-information-form

ADB has a two-stage appeals process for requesters who believe that ADB has denied their request for information in violation of its Access to Information Policy. You can learn more about filing an appeal at: https://www.adb.org/site/disclosure/appeals

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF ADB

The Accountability Mechanism is an independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an Asian Development Bank-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the Accountability Mechanism, they may investigate to assess whether the Asian Development Bank is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. You can learn more about the Accountability Mechanism and how to file a complaint at: http://www.adb.org/site/accountability-mechanism/main.

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How it works