Lowest in 16 years in terms of GDP

Despite repeated calls from educationists to increase the budget for education sector, the proposed allocation this fiscal year is still far behind the expected level.
The allocation of Tk 94,710 crore for education is only 1.69 percent of GDP (gross domestic product), which is the lowest in the last 16 years.
It is way less than Unesco's recommendation of four to six percent allocation of the GDP for the sector.
Countries like Nepal and Myanmar are ahead of Bangladesh in terms of spending on education. Nepal spent 3.6 percent and Myanmar 2.1 percent of their GDP on education in 2022, according to World Bank data.
"It's nothing but a usual budget. I'm frustrated," Manzoor Ahmed, emeritus professor at BRAC University, told The Daily Star.
While placing the budget yesterday, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali set aside Tk 44,108 crore for Secondary and Higher Education Division, Tk 10,602 crore for Technical and Madrasa Education Division, and Tk 38,819 crore for Primary and Mass Education Ministry.
The allocation is 11.88 percent of the total outlay. However, in terms of amount, the allocation rose by 7.42 percent from the outgoing year.
But when it comes to the share of GDP, which is Tk 55,97,414 crore, the allocation stands at 1.69 percent.
In the fiscal year of 2009-10, the maiden year for the Awami League's four consecutive terms, the education sector's allocation was 2.04 percent of GDP.
The allocation went up to 2.49 percent of the GDP in the 2016-17 fiscal year and then started decreasing over the past eight years.
Manzoor Ahmed, also the founding director of BRAC Institute of Educational Development, said, "The gap between projection and actual allocation shows that there is an inconsistency between planning and implementation -- such a gap upsets the total planning."
Educationists expected that the government would emphasise downsizing the large classroom size, reducing the student-teacher ratio and enhancing teachers' capacity.
"But we don't see any significant moves regarding the matter," he added.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue, in an analysis of the national budget for FY2023-24, said on average, at least 35 LDCs (least-developed countries) spent two percent or more of their GDP on education from 2016 to 2022.
In the same period, Bangladesh's average education expenditure was 1.8 percent of GDP, it said.
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