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Published : 02 Jun 2025, 10:40 PM
In the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, allocations for the education and technology sectors have decreased slightly in proportion to the GDP.
Educationists have termed the budget allocation for education as "disappointing". They believe that the "aspirations of the July Uprising" are not reflected in the education budget.
On Monday, Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed presented a budget of Tk 7.90 trillion for the fiscal year 2025–26. Of this, Tk Tk 1.11 trillion has been allocated to education and technology, which is 14 percent of the total budget and 1.77 percent of GDP.
In the outgoing 2024–25 fiscal year, the original allocation for education was also Tk 1.11 trillion, which was later revised down to Tk 991.14 billion.
That amount accounted for 13.32 percent of the revised budget and 1.78% of GDP.
However, according to international standards, allocating 6 percent of GDP or 20 percent of the national budget to education is considered ideal.
Expressing disappointment, Prof Abdul Halim, former chairman of the Institute of Education and Research at Dhaka University, said: “Does this budget reflect the aspirations of the July Uprising? Absolutely not. After the uprising, we expected the education sector to be prioritised, but that hasn’t been reflected in the proposed budget.
"At a time when there’s emphasis on improving the quality of education, it is disheartening to see the allocation decline relative to GDP. Finance is the backbone of any initiative. Without sufficient allocation, how can we expect improvement in education?”
The proposed spending plan includes a Tk 9.34 billion increase in allocation for the two education ministries compared with FY25.
This time, a total of Tk 956.44 billion has been proposed for the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education and the Ministry of Education’s Secondary & Higher Education Division and Technical & Madrasa Education Division. Last year’s allocation was Tk 947.1 billion.
Compared to last year, the new budget proposes a reduction of Tk 34.16 billion for the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, bringing the allocation to Tk 354.03 billion for FY26, down from Tk 388.19 billion.
On the other hand, there is a proposed increase of Tk 34.55 billion in the allocation for Secondary and Higher Education, bringing it to Tk 475.63 billion, up from Tk 441.08 billion in the outgoing fiscal year.
The Technical and Madrasa Education Division is also set to receive Tk 8.95 billion more, with a proposed allocation of Tk 127.28 billion, up from Tk 117.83 billion.
The proposed budget allocates Tk 128.69 billion for the Ministry of Science and Technology and Tk 21.64 billion for the ICT Division.
INCREASE NOT SATISFACTORY: CPD
Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Research Director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said that the proposed increase of Tk 9.34 billion across the two education ministries was "below what was expected".
The Tk 34.16 billion cut in allocation to primary education was disappointing to him.
“The increase in allocation to education is not as expected, but the decrease in allocation to primary education is disappointing. We had hoped that the budget allocation to education would be increased further.
“The expected allocation to education has not been received due to the government’s revenue collection deficit. I think that if the revenue collection rate had been as expected, important sectors like education would have received greater priority.”
CALLS TO FOCUS ON HIGHER EDUCATION QUALITY
Prof Abdul Halim emphasised the importance of improving the quality of higher education.
“It’s important to monitor the standards of our higher education institutions. Compared to universities in other countries, ours are far behind, and this is reflected in global rankings.”
Raising concerns about private university standards, he said: “Are all private universities up to standard? Many lack proper faculty. Some don’t even have professors. This is also true for some public universities.
"With the salary of one professor, you could hire three lecturers. This is a matter of financial planning. I think it’s time to address these issues and focus on the quality of higher education.”
TK 16.26 BILLION EARMARKED FOR TEXTBOOKS
In his budget speech, the finance advisor proposed Tk 16.26 billion for providing revised textbooks to students at the secondary and higher secondary levels.
"To modernise the higher education system and align it with international standards, the curricula of all private universities have been updated based on the globally recognised outcome-based education (OBE) model," he said.
"Under the Secondary and Higher Education Division, 62 projects are being implemented with an allocation of Tk 19.57 billion for educational infrastructure development and other initiatives."
This year, 5.1 million students at the secondary level, 800,000 at the higher secondary level, and 165,000 undergraduates from low-income backgrounds have received stipends, according to Salehuddin.
Measures are also being taken to improve human resources, including increased bonuses and gratuity, for MPO-enlisted teachers.
TK 21.64 BILLION FOR SCHOOL FEEDING PROGRAMME
The finance advisor said in his speech:
For the upcoming fiscal year, the interim finance minister proposed an allocation of Tk 21.64 billion for the School Feeding Programme in government primary schools.
He noted that short, medium, and long-term reform initiatives have been launched to improve primary education, with the main goal being to create a suitable learning environment and provide quality education.
In the current fiscal year, 5,946 classrooms, 17,164 wash blocks, and 4,450 tube wells have been built in primary schools nationwide, he added.
Additionally, over 919.5 million textbooks have been distributed from pre-primary to Grade 5. Salehuddin added that all students at the primary level now receive stipends via electronic fund transfer (EFT).
GOOD NEWS FOR EBTEDAYEE MADRASA TEACHERS
The budget brought good news for Ebtedayee madrasa teachers (primary-level religious schools).
The finance advisor proposed Tk 7.28 billion for stipends at the Ebtedayee level and to bring madrasas under the monthly payment order (MPO) scheme.
"The government is implementing extensive programmes for the development of madrasa education. The construction of 1,135 madrasa buildings has already been completed and construction of 513 multi-storey buildings is underway," he said.
GOVT EYES 20% ENROLMENT IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION
The finance advisor also highlighted efforts to raise enrollment in technical education.
"At present, the enrolment rate in technical education is 19 percent. Women polytechnic and engineering colleges are being established at every divisional level, polytechnics at district level and technical schools at Upazila level to substantially increase this rate in the future."
