Health, education budget allocations fall short of expectations again
At a time when the interim government had a rare opportunity to reset national priorities, health and education – the two cornerstones of human development – have once again received inadequate attention.
In the proposed budget for FY2025–26, the government has allocated Tk95,644 crore for the education sector, reflecting a 13.4% increase from the revised FY2024–25 budget.
However, that revised figure was already 11% lower than the original budget for the same year.
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Despite this apparent increase, education spending amounts to 12.1% of the total Tk7.90 lakh crore budget and a mere 1.53% of GDP – far below global benchmarks.
For more than two decades, education spending in Bangladesh has remained stubbornly below 2% of GDP.
This is in stark contrast to the Education 2030 Framework for Action, adopted by UNESCO Member States in 2015, which urges governments to invest at least 4–6% of GDP in education to ensure inclusive and equitable quality learning for all.
The outlook for the health sector is equally disheartening. The proposed allocation for FY2025–26 is Tk41,908 crore – a 50.1% rise from the revised FY2024–25 budget. But again, that revised figure was already slashed by 32.6% from its original outlay.
As a share of the national budget, health receives 5.3%, and only 0.67% of GDP. For the past two decades, health spending has failed to even reach the 1% of GDP threshold.
This falls drastically short of what is needed. The Health Sector Reform Commission has recommended allocating at least 5% of GDP and 15% of the national budget to health. Yet, the new budget shows no reflection of this guidance.
Numerous studies, including from the World Health Organization have estimated that governments need to spend the equivalent of at least 5% to 7.5% of their GDP on health care.
