Increasing The Education Budget & The Merging Of Education & Business

By Amali Wedagedara, Lakmali Hemachandra & Niyanthini Kadirgamar –December 15, 2015

Public education has been at the centre of many struggles in Sri Lanka. While images of the brutal attacks on the HNDA student protests are still fresh in our minds, another budget has been presented to us by the Government. Increases in the allocations for education was announced as a highlight of the 2016 Budget. As a sector that has a widespread interest among the people, this Government’s policy direction for education proposed in the budget has generated much debate.

The expenditure increases for education have to be situated within the broader economic policy direction set by this Budget, which is an intensification of neoliberalism in Sri Lanka characterised by the power of business interests. Indeed, there are concerns as to whether the Government is investing in the education sector to develop it as a revenue making business in the future, instead of investing in education with the purpose of raising the social wellbeing of the people.

Education Budget for 2016

There is considerable confusion regarding the education budget figures. Although it was widely reported in the media that the allocation for education is 5.4% of GDP, the total government spending on education as stated in the budget is Rs. 461 bn, which is 3.7% of GDP.

However, a significant portion of this education budget amounting to Rs.121 bn is for “capital carrying costs” of the government, a new budget item included for the first time in this year’s budget. No explanations have been provided as to how such a major allocated line item will be utilised. It is perhaps merely a fictional figure based on creative financial engineering that has been added to education and health totalling Rs.139 bn, which is counter-balanced in the revenue side by a new budget item called the “notional rent income from land and building.”

The proposed education budget for 2016 makes up 2.72% of GPD when the controversial capital carrying costs are removed from the calculations. Regardless of such confusion, there is a significant increase of 31% in allocations for education compared to the 2.07% of GDP in 2015.   Read More