TDS Desk:

A budgetary allocation of Tk47,563 crore has been proposed for the secondary and higher education sector in the 2025–26 fiscal year.

In the 2024–25 budget, this allocation stood at Tk44,108 crore. This marks an increase of Tk3,455 crore for the upcoming year.

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed made the announcement while presenting the proposed budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, amounting to Tk7,89,999 crore, in a televised speech on Monday.

To modernize and align higher education with global standards, the adviser said that curricula in all private universities have been updated to follow international standard outcome-based education (OBE) models.

Salehuddin added: “Under the Secondary and Higher Education Division, 62 projects are being implemented with an investment of Tk1,957 crore, focusing on education infrastructure development and other activities.”

He also said: “In the current fiscal year, stipends have been arranged for 5.1 million underprivileged meritorious students at the secondary level, 8 lakh at the higher secondary level, and 165,000 at the undergraduate level.”

“A proposed allocation of Tk1,626 crore has been made to distribute revised textbooks to students at the secondary and higher secondary levels,” he added.

He further said: “Additionally, initiatives are being taken to enhance bonuses and provide gratuity for MPO-listed teachers, alongside broader efforts to develop human resources across all tiers of education.”

It is worth noting that the size of the national budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year is Tk7,000 crore less than the original budget for the ongoing fiscal year.

The proposed budget projects a GDP growth rate of 5.6%, a deficit of Tk2,66,000 crore (3.6% of the total budget), inflation at 6.5%, and an Annual Development Program (ADP) of Tk2,30,000 crore.