Budgetary allocation for education, health inadequate

Save the Children, an international organisation, yesterday expressed concern over the budgetary allocation for education and health sectors, saying it is not adequate.

At a press conference, they said such allocations will affect the children's education and health.

Save the Children organised the conference at its office in Dhaka to assess the budget response of the government in child-related issues.

Ashiq Iqbal, deputy director, governance and public finance, of the organisation, said the allocation for education and health increased by 5.2 percent and 13.2 percent respectively from the outgoing fiscal year.

“Allocations for these sectors should grow by around 25 and 20 percent respectively to stay on course in terms of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),” he said.

“Our capacity in terms of budget spending has increased, but we did not get the allocation as per our capacity,” he said, adding that it might affect the SDGs.

He also said 44 percent growth took place in public services, whereas the growth in social sector is 8.7 percent.

Speaking on violence against children and child labour, Laila Khondkar, the organisation's director of child rights governance and child protection, said there is no strong measure from the government on preventing these.

“According to the labour law 14 years is the minimum age for appointment [anyone], but can we ensure that? Most of the children are working in informal sectors…” she said.

The organisers appreciated the government's initiatives to facilitate disabled children.