The education sector suffered a huge blow during the Covid-19 pandemic. During that time the poor condition of the health sector was also revealed. Despite this, both the areas related to fundamental rights are not getting adequate attention in the national budget.
Although the allocation increases in terms of money, the increase as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) is very small. The same negligence is likely to continue in the next budget for the financial year 2024-25.
According to the World Bank, Bangladesh is one of the 10 countries that allocates the least funds to the education sector in proportion to the size of its economy.
On the other hand, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that a Bangladeshi needs US$88 annually for basic health services, but the amount spent is US$58, which is mostly provided by citizens.
An analysis of the allocations given in the last five national budgets revealed that the allocation to the education sector was 12 per cent of the budget and to the health sector was about 5 per cent. This amount is about 2 and 1 percent compared to GDP.