The same old disappointment in education budget

No country in Asia or Africa allocates as little to education as Bangladesh does, laments a former UGC chairman

In the new budget for 2024-25 fiscal year presented in parliament, the allocation for the education sector has slightly increased in proportion to the GDP.

But educators expressed their disappointment, saying that the education budget was “not as expected”.

Without investing in human resource development, it would not be possible for the government to maintain the continuity of development.

On Thursday, an outlay of Tk 7.97 trillion was proposed, with approximately Tk 111.157 billion allocated for education and technology sectors, which is 13.95 percent of the total budget and 1.98 percent of the GDP.

In the outgoing FY 2023-24, the education sector had an allocation of Tk 104.137 billion, which was revised down to Tk 89.12 billion.

The amount spent is 12.45 percent of the total revised budget and 1.76 percent of the GDP.

Yet, according to international standards, a country's education sector is considered ideal if it receives 6 percent of the GDP or 20 percent of the budget.

Rasheda K Choudhury, executive director of the Campaign for Popular Education, said the allocation for the education sector in the budget was not at all as hoped.

"The budget reflects many good intentions of the government, but those intentions are not sufficiently addressed in this budget. We are moving towards the developed world, but lagging behind many developing countries, especially in South Asia. This is not desirable at all."

She highlighted the positive aspects of the budget, such as increasing the scope of the Mid-Day Meal, allowances for the disabled, and scholarships.

"We have talked about increasing amounts, other areas have been increased, but I see no example here.

"We haven't seen in the budget the reflection of the various types of training that teachers need to implement the new curriculum. It's unclear whether teachers, after receiving training, are applying it in teaching the new curriculum. We have a complete weakness in monitoring this. No guidelines for overcoming this weakness have been seen. Nor have we seen any example of increased allocation for education research."

Rasheda believes research is needed on why the allocated funds in the education sector cannot be spent.

She said, "I haven't seen any direction in terms of improving efficiency and capability in budget usage. However, it is necessary to provide that."

The former chairman of the University Grants Commission, Professor Abdul Mannan, also believes that the allocation for education is “insufficient”.

He said, "No country in Asia or Africa allocates as little to education as Bangladesh does. Other countries allocate more. The allocation for education here is not sufficient, but we must try to increase it as much as possible. Education allocation is not an expense; it is an investment.

“We cannot make that investment properly. I would say increase it, especially in primary and technical education rather than higher education.

"Some specialised educational institutions, cadet colleges, and military universities have been established. Their facilities and the facilities available to ordinary students are not the same. I would like the allocation for education to be increased."

Professor Mannan believes the education budget cannot be spent due to bureaucratic complexities. "The money allocated for education takes a year to be disbursed. To overcome this situation, political goodwill is needed."

Professor Tariq Ahsan from the Institute of Education and Research at Dhaka University believes that it is time to consider the priorities in budget allocations for the education sector.

"We have seen over the past few years that the amount of money allocated is not being spent but is being returned. Should we only focus on developing physical infrastructure, or should we focus on developing human resources? We need to improve the quality of our teachers and the learning environment.

"If we do not prioritise these areas, we will see that the money is being returned. Teachers need more training in light of the new curriculum. Institutions should ensure that the classroom environment is suitable for our students, as the design of classrooms is changing. There is a need for group work in the new curriculum. The allocation in this sector needs to be increased. Institutions must ensure internet activity."

Tariq also believes that the education administration needs to be modernised.

"The entire system needs to be digital. We still believe that the education budget is not as expected. Education should be given priority and taken in the direction of mega projects."

Not only the development of physical infrastructure but also modernising the areas of human resource development is necessary to maintain the continuity of development, he believes.

Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali proposed in his budget Tk 388.19 billion for the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, Tk 441.09 billion for the Department of Secondary and Higher Education, and Tk 117.83 billion for the Department of Technical and Madrasa Education.

Science and technology were allocated Tk 135.73 billion and information and communication technology Tk 28.73 million in his proposal.

Although the proposed budget increases allocations for the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education, the Department of Secondary and Higher Education, the Department of Technical and Madrasa Education, and the Department of Information and Communication Technology, the allocation for the Ministry of Science and Technology has decreased.

In the outgoing fiscal year, this ministry had an allocation of Tk 136.07 billion, which in the revised budget was reduced to Tk 120.34 billion.

In his budget address, Finance Minister Ali said significant success has been achieved in the field of education due to the sincere efforts of the government, which has allowed Bangladesh to surpass India and Pakistan in the Human Development Index, placing it 129th out of 192 countries.

He noted that the enrolment rate at the secondary level has been raised to 71.82 percent.

The government is implementing construction and development of educational institutions, financial assistance including scholarships and stipends for students and teachers, and various programmes for intellectual development to expand education, he said.

The minister also claimed that policies and environments supporting the expansion of education are being created.

He said all students at the primary level are being provided scholarships through EFT to prevent dropout.

A 'School Feeding Programme' has been initiated in all primary schools across 150 Upazilas.

This came on top of the ongoing school feeding programme for over 2.7 million students in 15,470 government primary schools across 104 Upazilas.