Staff Reporter :
The Education Sector got the highest allocation of Tk 87,62o crore in last 10 years in the proposed national budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year.
The government allocated 3.04 per cent of GDP and 16.75 per cent of total budget allocations this year.
It was 2.09 per cent of GDP and 11.4 per cent of total budget in the 2018-19 fiscal year.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the proposed budget in the Parliament on Thursday.
He said, “The MPO (Monthly Pay Order) enlistment in the Ministry of Education remained suspended for a long time. Upon request from the Ministry of Education and under the special directive of the Prime Minister, necessary funds have been earmarked in the budget for this year for enlistment of new schools in the MPO list.”
Mustafa Kamal said, “It is now the demand of the time to ensure selection of competent teachers in all areas of education, provide them with training, and ensure selection of appropriate and timely academic subjects. Our government will take necessary measures from this year to ensure their implementation.”
The Finance Minister said, to increase the involvement of private institutions including local 22 elites in the school feeding program and expansion and coordinated implementation of the overall program, a process is underway to formulate the National School Feeding Policy to be formulated in FY2019-20.”
“A pilot project titled ‘Digital Primary Education’ will be undertaken to facilitate qualitative improvement in education by enhancing the capacity of primary education together with the use of ICT. Under the project, inter-active classrooms will be established in 503 model primary schools. The following programmes will continue in FY2019-20 to ensure the on-going development of primary and mass education,” he said.
He said, “With a view to establishing one technical school at each upazila to
create skilled manpower in Bangladesh, construction of technical schools in 100 upazilas at a cost of Tk 2,281.69 crore in the preliminary phase is underway.”
“Necessary budget has been allocated to develop land survey education in Bangladesh, construct polytechnic institutes in 23 districts, and implement projects to enhance the capacity of 64 technical schools and colleges under the Directorate of Technical Education, added Kamal.
Besides, he said, polytechnic institutes for women are being established in four divisional towns (Sylhet, Barishal Mymensingh and Rangpur.”
It may be mentioned that the budgetary allocation in the sector was 2.09 per cent of GDP and 11.4 per cent of total budget in 2018-19 FY, 2.09 per cent of GDP and 12.6 of total budget in 2017-18 FY, 2.09 per cent of GDP and 16.1 per cent of total budget in 2016-17 FY, 2.18 per cent of GDP and 14.3 per cent of total budget in 2015-16 FY and 1.85 per cent of GDP and 11.7 per cent of total budget in 2014-15 FY.
