The budget allocation for the country鈥檚 55 public universities has been reduced for the financial year 2024-25.
The University Grants Commission on Wednesday approved a proposal for a Tk 11,690.04 crore operating and development budget for the public universities.
The proposed budget allocation for these universities was Tk 12,262.78 crore for FY2023-24, which was, later, revised to Tk 9,155.36 crore.
The UGC also approved a Tk 87.4 crore budget, including own earnings, for itself for the next financial year, compared to Tk 77.45 crore in the outgoing year.
These budgets were approved at the 167th full commission meeting, chaired by UGC chairman (additional duty) professor Muhammed Alamgir at the UGC Bhaban in Dhaka, according to a press release from the commission.
For the FY2024-25, the proposed allocations include Tk 5,500 crore as a government grant, Tk 1,272.53 crore from the revenue earnings of public universities, and Tk 4,917.51 crore for 31 development projects.
The budget for research purposes is set at Tk 188.65 crore, up from Tk 145.3 crore in the revised budget of FY2023-24.
Additionally, Tk 33 crore was approved for research sector, including the public university teachers under various scholarship programmes, from the UGC.
In the FY2024-25, the highest revenue budget, Tk 804.41 crore, was allocated to Dhaka University, which also received the highest research budget of Tk 20 crore.
Professor Muhammed Alamgir noted that for the FY2024-25, the government grant increased by 5.57 per cent, universities鈥� own earnings by 8.4 per cent, and the budget for research increased by 29.8 per cent.
He urged universities to implement the budget, following government and the UGC鈥檚 financial policies, control expenditures, and increase their own earnings.
The meeting also recommended the approval of the appointment, promotion, and up-gradation of public university officers and employees policy, and approved the collaborative research grants policy 2023 and unified financial policy and account manual for public universities.
Senior officials from the planning commission and UGC, along with vice-chancellors of various public universities, attended the meeting.