The Egyptian Government has decided to spend 63 billion Egyptian pounds (about 11.25 billion dollars), or 28 per cent of the projected revenues, on education and health care in next financial year, the official MENA news agency reported on Monday, quoting Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.
In the draft state budget for next financial year starting form July, the education budget has "increased to hit 48 billion pounds against 36 billion," Nazif said while addressing the People's Assembly (lower house), adding that "health appropriations increased to 15 billion pounds against 13 billion."
Moreover, the government has allocated 500 million pounds to overhaul 24,000 schools in cooperation with the civil society and the private sector, which is constructing 5,000 new facilities.
The rise of education and health expenditure came as the country's economy, however diversified, was hit hard by the global economic turmoil.
The country's economic growth rate will slow down to a moderate 4.5 per cent from more than seven per cent in the past few years, as the revenues from the Suez Canal, exports and tourism shrank, he said.
As a result, the total revenues are projected at 225 billion pounds in the upcoming financial year, compared with 290 billion pounds in the last budget.
The government will keep the subsidies for bread and fuels, and freeze administrative expenditures, which account for 55 per cent of the budget.
The major retrenchment comes from the subsidy funds, which will be 73 billion pounds, down from last year's 132 billion due to a slump of inflation since August, when the rate was at a whopping 24 per cent. (1 dollar = 5.6 Egyptian pound).