Big squeeze on education: Bangladesh cuts funding to 11.57% of FY24 budget

The Tk 881.62 billion earmarked for the sector is a 13.7 percent rise from last year’s allocation

The government has raised the allocation for the education sector in the national budget by 13.7 percent to Tk 881.62 billion for 2023-24 fiscal year, but the amount is only 11.57 percent of the total.

In the budget for FY2023, Tk 814.49 billion was set aside for the sector, making up 12.01 percent of the total budget.

The combined allocation for education and technology even fell to 13.7 percent of next fiscal year’s budget from 14.7 percent in the current fiscal year and 15.7 percent last year.

International standards dictate that the education sector ideally gets an allocation of 6 percent of the GDP or 20 percent of the budget.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal presented an ambitious budget of nearly Tk 7.61 trillion for the 2023-24 fiscal year pushing for the development of a ‘Smart Bangladesh’ in parliament on Thursday.

The primary education sector will get Tk 347.22 billion for the next 2023-24 fiscal year, up from Tk 317.61 billion in the budget for the current FY 2022-23.

The allocation for the secondary and higher education sector has been raised to Tk 428.38 billion from Tk 399.61 billion in the current fiscal year.

Kamal proposed to allocate Tk 106.02 billion for the next fiscal year for technical and madrasa education, which was Tk 97.27 billion in the current fiscal year, to meet the modernisation requirements of madrasa education.

Last month, Education Minister Dipu Moni said the government was undertaking a "mega project" to ensure the provision of quality education.

“The budget for education will experience a significant boost in the future. The current focus lies in recruiting and developing teachers to strengthen the education system. Once the ongoing initiatives are completed, the budget will be further increased,” Dipu Moni said while speaking at the launch of the research report of a National Curriculum and Textbook Board in collaboration with the European Union at a hotel in Dhaka on May 16.

She highlighted the importance of increasing the budget for education and human resources, which currently stands at around three percent.

In comparison to the past, where the entire national budget was Tk 600 billion during the last year of the BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami regime in 2007, the present allocation for education and human resource development exceeds Tk 900 billion. This substantial investment reflects the government’s solid commitment to the sector, Dipu Moni said.

During his budget speech, Kamal emphasised that the government is especially committed to enhancing the quality of education at all levels.

“Our aim is to provide science-based, technology-based, skill-enhancing, innovation and

creativity-supportive education that will instil the spirit of delivering services and their conscientiousness.”

The government is implementing pre-primary classroom beautification programmes in all primary schools to make the learning environment enjoyable for young children, he said.

Kamal said that the construction of separate toilets for female students and teachers in all schools is being carried out gradually. The purpose is to create a favourable school environment that encourages girls to stay in school and focus on their studies, he said.

To encourage women's participation in technical education, the quota for women in admissions has been increased from 10 percent to 20 percent, he said.