Jahangirnagar University (JU) has approved a Tk348.70 crore budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year, with salaries and allowances taking up the largest share while primary healthcare received the lowest allocation.

Treasurer Professor Abdur Rob placed the budget at the university’s 43rd annual senate session held at the Senate Hall of the old administrative building yesterday (27 June). It was later approved unanimously following discussions by senate members.

According to the budget analysis, the highest allocation has been made for salaries and allowances, with Tk201.43 crore earmarked for the sector, accounting for 57.77% of the total budget.

The second-highest allocation, Tk78.03 crore, has been made for goods and services, while Tk37.14 crore has been set aside for pensions and retirement benefits.

In contrast, only Tk70 lakh has been allocated for primary healthcare support, which is just 0.20% of the total budget and the lowest among all sectors.

The university has not allocated any separate funds from its own budget for research and innovation in this year’s budget. However, the administration said the required funds for the sector in FY2026-27 would be provided directly by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Reviewing the income sources of the main budget, Tk316.70 crore will come from the University Grants Commission or government grants. The university expects to earn Tk5.30 crore from student fees and Tk18.23 crore from the sale of admission forms.

Besides, Tk2.92 crore is expected from different charges, Tk32 lakh from university properties, and Tk5.21 crore from other sources. Excluding the UGC allocation, the university’s total own income stands at Tk32 crore.

The budget review also shows that allocations have been increased in several sectors for FY2026-27. Of these, Tk46 lakh has been earmarked for the renovation of the Jucsu building.

As the UGC allocation remains lower than the university’s demand, the revenue deficit has been increasing every year. Until FY2023-24, the university’s accumulated deficit stood at Tk80.38 crore. By the end of FY2024-25, the accumulated budget deficit reached around Tk99.08 crore.

The deficit is expected to cross Tk100 crore once the projected shortfall of the current fiscal year is added.

JU Comptroller Md Mosanul Kabir said, “The budget deficit in FY2025-26 may exceed Tk15 crore. However, the actual accounts will be finalised after the end of June. Based on that, the university’s accumulated budget deficit may cross Tk100 crore by the end of the current fiscal year.”

The administration, however, said, “The budget deficit has been covered by borrowing from different funds to the revenue fund in different fiscal years.”