Education Minister Ehsanul Hoque Milon has announced plans to gradually increase the allocation for the education sector until it reaches 5% of the GDP.
He emphasized that Bangladesh’s greatest asset is its population, and the government is prioritizing education and technical training to transform this population into skilled human resources.
Addressing the Jagannath University Deans’ Award programme as chief guest, the minister said Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had directed a gradual increase in education spending, as reaching the 5 per cent target immediately would not be feasible.
He said the education budget has been raised from approximately Tk87,000 crore in the previous fiscal year to Tk136,000 crore in the current fiscal year, equivalent to around 2 per cent of GDP. The government plans to increase the allocation in stages to 3.5 per cent, then 4 per cent, and eventually 5 per cent.
Milon noted that although UNESCO recommends allocating 6 per cent of GDP to education, Bangladesh’s actual spending has remained significantly below that level.
He claimed that last year’s reported allocation of 1.69 per cent of GDP was misleading, as it included expenditures from sectors unrelated to education, such as the ICT Ministry and the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project. According to him, the actual allocation stood at around 1.39 per cent.
Describing people as the country’s greatest asset, the minister said Bangladesh’s growing youth population presents a unique opportunity at a time when many developed nations are facing demographic decline.
He stressed the importance of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), for which Tk18,000 crore has been allocated in the current fiscal year. Providing workers with skills before they seek employment abroad would boost remittance earnings and strengthen Bangladesh’s competitiveness in the global labour market, he said.
“If people go abroad with skills rather than just two hands and two feet, both their value and the country’s benefit will increase,” he added.
The minister also said the government is working to shift the education system away from exam-oriented learning and an excessive focus on GPA-5 results. Curriculum and syllabus reforms are under way to promote creativity, innovation and project-based learning, with further changes expected in phases by 2027 and 2028.
Referring to Jagannath University as a historic institution with contributions to the Language Movement, the Liberation War and other national causes, Milon said the government would consider expanding the university’s facilities, including residential accommodation, to address the student housing shortage.
Congratulating the award recipients, he urged students to prepare themselves for leadership, social service and national development.
“You must lead the Bangladesh of tomorrow,” he told the students.
The programme was chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof Md Rais Uddin and attended by MP Hamidur Rahman Hamid, Education Ministry Secretary Abdul Khalek and other distinguished guests.
