JU announces Tk318 crore budget for next fiscal
Jahangirnagar University (JU) has announced a budget of Tk318.44 crore for the financial year 2024-25.
University Treasurer Professor Rasheda Akhtar presented the budget in the 41st annual senate session organised at the senate hall of the university on Saturday.
This year, the size of the budget increased by Tk24.28 crore compared to the previous year’s Tk294.16 crore budget.
By analysing the budget allocation of the university, it was seen that an allocation of Tk189.87 crore has been allocated for salaries and allowances, which is 64.55% of the total budget.
Tk74.24 crores were allotted for goods and services while Tk31.90 crore for pension and retirement benefits which are 25.24% and 10.84% of the total budget. Tk7.22 crore has been allocated for research and innovation which is only 2.45% of the total budget.
There is an allocation for teachers’ research and innovation, but no separate allocation has been kept for students. The teachers and students say, “Most of the allocated amount will go towards the salaries of the officers and employees. Therefore, it is not possible to meet the needs of students with this money.
Budget analysts believed that the amount of allocation should be increased to make the university a research university.
The total income of this year’s budget will be achieved by a grant of Tk279.12 crore from the University Grants Commission (UGC), while Tk39.32 crore will come from the university’s internal sources. The internal source includes selling admission forms, fees from students, internal assets, and other sources.
Treasurer Professor Rasheda Akhtar said, “Currently the deficit in the revenue fund is Tk65.87 crore. There may be a revenue deficit of approximately Tk12 crore in the current financial year. A balanced budget has been formulated as per UGC guidelines. Budgeting is literally impossible under such financial pressure. As the deficit increases, it will become difficult for the university to carry out its normal activities.”
