VCs demand billion more to run universities in Sindh

The vice-chancellors (VCs) of public universities in Sindh have demanded an immediate raise of several billion rupees in the budget to run and maintain the universities.

In a joint letter highlighting the monetary cuts and the rising expenditure in the last two years to the Federal Minister for Finance, Shaukat Tareen, and Sindh’s Chief Minister, Murad Ali Shah, and addressing the Federal Minister for Education, Shafqat Mahmood, the VCs have demanded the rise in the annual budget.

Moreover, the copies of the letter have also been sent to the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the Federal Secretary of Finance, and the Federal Secretary HEC.

The letter stated that the federal government had assigned a budget of Rs. 64 billion for higher education in the present financial year which was Rs. 1 billion less than for the previous monetary year. The Finance Division had assessed the full expenditure of public universities to be Rs. 103 billion. Therefore, some universities are unable to pay the salaries and pensions to their staff.

The letter elaborated that the federal government plans to increase the pensions and salaries by 15 to 20 percent in the next budget, in addition, to an increase in the higher education budget. It detailed that such a situation will add monetary pressure on Sindh’s public universities from 30 percent to 50 percent.

Furthermore, it stated that in an evaluation of 17 public universities in Sindh, the HEC had proposed their annual expenditure to be Rs. 31 billion. In spite of this, they were given only Rs. 7.83 billion from the HEC and produced Rs. 12 billion from their own incomes, while the provincial government subsidizes Rs. 5 billion.

To discuss the financial constraints, the VCs have also requested a meeting with the Sindh Chief Minister.