Equity, not equal allocation, should guide SLIP funding: Bobby Hajjaj

Highlights:

• Financial need should determine scholarship and stipend priority
• Children at greater risk of dropping out should receive more support
• School feeding and other support programmes should be better coordinated

Funding for schools under the School-Level Improvement Plan (SLIP) should be based on need rather than equal allocation, with schools facing greater challenges receiving more support, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Bobby Hajjaj has said.

"Those who need more should receive more support. There is no need to provide the same amount of additional funding to those who already have adequate resources," he said.

Hajjaj made the remarks at a workshop titled "From Evidence to Action: Presenting Research Findings on the Effectiveness of School-Level Improvement Plans (SLIP)" held in Dhaka today (15 September).

The workshop was organised by the Directorate of Primary Education, Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and Unicef.

He said the government should move away from the current system of requiring schools to spend their own money before receiving reimbursement. Instead, funds should be provided in advance, with stronger monitoring and accountability mechanisms.

He added that head teachers should be given clear leadership responsibility at the school level, while officials at the upazila level should have specific roles. 

He also said SLIP funds should not be used to conduct examinations. Consultations with teachers across the country had found broad support for removing examination expenses from SLIP, he said, so that the funds could instead be used for student learning and essential school improvements.

The government could directly provide students with basic learning materials such as notebooks, pens, erasers and sharpeners, the state minister said. Such supplies could require Tk650-700 crore annually, but would reduce pressure on SLIP funds.

Unicef representative Jilun Melsop also called for equitable, needs-based funding, saying schools have different requirements. Funding should be timely and predictable, while the capacity of head teachers, school management committees, parent-teacher associations and communities should be strengthened.

Mirajul Islam Ukil, director of the Planning and Development Division of the Directorate of Primary Education, said several provisions of the 2023 SLIP guidelines need revision, including the 18 existing spending areas.

A PPRC study found that despite more than a decade of SLIP implementation, genuine decentralisation at the school level remains incomplete. Delays in fund release, rigid rules, weak field-level capacity and centralised control were identified as major challenges.

The study recommended advance funding, needs-based allocations, linking SLIP spending to learning outcomes and strengthening school committees.

Former caretaker government adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury said student voices should be considered in SLIP planning, along with school safety, drowning prevention, libraries, storybooks and menstrual health management.