Jahangirnagar University (JU) has placed a proposed revenue budget of Tk348.70 crore for the 2026-27 fiscal year, keeping no allocation for research and innovation from its own revenue fund.
The university has also placed the revised budget of Tk348.25 crore for FY2025-26 for approval.
JU Treasurer Prof M Abdur Rob presented the proposed budget at the university's 43rd annual Senate session on Saturday, chaired by Vice-Chancellor Prof Mohammad Kamrul Ahsan. The budget is awaiting approval by the Senate.
According to the proposed budget, the largest allocation- Tk201.43 crore, or 57.77 percent of the total outlay has been earmarked for salaries and allowances of teachers, officers and employees.
The second-largest allocation of Tk78.03 crore (22.38 percent) has been set aside for general goods and services, including administrative expenditures.
The university has proposed Tk37.14 crore (10.65 percent) for pensions and retirement benefits, down from Tk44.24 crore in the revised budget for FY2025-26, marking a reduction of about Tk7.10 crore.
One of the most notable features of the proposed budget is the absence of any allocation for research and innovation from the university's own revenue budget. The allocation for the sector has been shown as zero.
However, university sources said research activities would continue with funding to be provided directly by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
The budget also proposes Tk11.37 crore (3.26 percent) for machinery and equipment, Tk9.47 crore (2.72 percent) for repair and maintenance of infrastructure, Tk2.82 crore (0.81 percent) for information and communication technology (ICT), Tk2.44 crore (0.70 percent) for vehicle purchases and Tk70 lakh (0.20 percent) for primary healthcare support.
Compared with the revised budget for FY2025-26, the allocation for salaries and allowances has increased by around Tk2.81 crore, while spending on general goods and services has risen by about Tk8.21 crore. The ICT allocation has increased by Tk12 lakh and primary healthcare support has been raised from Tk60 lakh to Tk70 lakh.
The allocation for machinery and equipment has also increased significantly, rising from Tk6.68 crore in the revised budget to Tk11.37 crore in the proposed budget.
An analysis of the proposed budget shows that more than 90 percent of the total allocation has been concentrated in three sectors: salaries and allowances, general administrative expenditure and pensions.
The university allocates less than two percent of its own revenue budget to research, healthcare and ICT combined, highlighting its limited investment in academic development and research.
The financial report presented at the Senate also disclosed that the university has been running a revenue deficit for years.
By the end of FY2024-25, Jahangirnagar University had accumulated a deficit of nearly Tk 100 crore and leaving it heavily dependent on government grants to implement its annual budget.