Public universities in hot water as govt. cuts down budget

The Commission, the governing body of the Higher Education Commission, has severely condemned the unprecedented and huge fall in the budget for the higher education sector, highlighting that this will undo all of the previous two decades' work.

In an online meeting on Friday, the Commission unanimously demanded that the government reverse its decision and allocate adequate funding to the higher education sector in the upcoming budget, warning that the cut will have serious consequences, including the closure of institutions, the winding down of university programmes, the firing of faculty members, the termination of research projects, and the halting of international higher education agreements.

In comparison to the reduced need of Rs. 104.983 billion, the Ministry of Finance has notified IBC (Indicative Budget Ceilings) of just Rs. 30 billion for higher education's recurring grant. Even yet, the allocation is 45 percent lower than the current year's (FY 2021-22) allotment of Rs. 66.25 billion.

The meeting emphasised that academics have been demanding that at least one percent of GDP be allocated to higher education, but the proposed allocation of only 0.04 percent of GDP will be disastrous for the already struggling higher education sector, where universities are struggling to cover even basic expenses like salaries, pensions, and services.

Members of the Commission stated that they were aware of the country's current financial crisis, but the higher education sector has been overlooked in the past and has never received the minimum required share of the budget. They stressed that new institutions have been chartered at a breakneck pace without regard for the financial implications of this expansion.

While boosting access to and the quality of higher education in the country is a top priority for all governments, it is impossible to achieve without adequate financial support on a long-term basis.

They warned that public universities would be left with little choice except to substantially raise student fees and increase student intake beyond capacity, causing the sector to collapse and adversely lowering the quality of learning and graduates.

Members were also updated on Thursday's Vice-Chancellors meeting, which sent a strong message to the government that cutting the budget would be equivalent to completely disregarding higher education and bringing universities to a halt.

On Thursday, over 120 heads of public sector universities united in their condemnation of the unprecedented cut in university budgets, urging the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and Minister of Education to look into the matter immediately and increase the budget to Rs. 104.983 billion per rationalised demand.