Pakistan's Higher Education Commission Faces Dire Budget Shortfall

[sunny001]

Pakistan's Higher Education Commission Faces Dire Budget Shortfall
By Shailaja Neelakantan
The government agency that finances and oversees Pakistan's universities is facing a huge budget shortfall, potentially hobbling the country's higher-education system, according to news reports.

The agency, the Higher Education Commission, is on the verge of bankruptcy, the commission's chairman Javaid Laghari told The News, a Pakistani newspaper. The News said the commission had not received "a single penny" of the $183-million that the government allocated to it for 2010-11, and that the money may be transferred to pay for relief efforts in flood-damaged areas of Karachi.

Mr. Laghari said he is also concerned about $45-million that U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged to the commission last October, and other American foreign aid meant to improve the country's higher-education system. He said Pakistan's Finance Division may include the overseas assistance as part of the already approved Pakistani government allocation, thereby awarding the commission no new funds.

The lack of funds will hurt universities that the agency provides financial support to for construction projects, student scholarships, and other programs. "The universities face a default of around $58-million, which they have to pay to the contractors but have no money with them," Mr. Laghari told the newspaper.

"Every country, even Saudi Arabia, is shifting from resource-based economy to knowledge-based economy, but in our country the situation is altogether different," Mr. Laghari said. He added that it would be "a great national loss as we could spend $175-million merely on the construction of roads" but could not spend the same amount on education.

Mr. Laghari said this is not the first time the commission's budgetary needs have been ignored. In January last year, for example, financial constraints forced the Pakistani government to suspend plans to create nine engineering schools that foreign universities had agreed to set up there with their own faculties and administrators.

In addition to the budget woes, the Higher Education Commission is involved in a recent political imbroglio. It is verifying the university degrees of the nation's 736 parliament members and 25,000 university faculty members and administrators as part of a nationwide effort to weed out fraudulent degree-holders.

Source:
http://chronicle.com/article/Pakistans-Higher-Education/123910/

 

[Hutchroy]

At least 71 universities face closure due to shortage of funds – The Express Tribune

At least 71 universities face closure due to shortage of funds

ISLAMABAD: Vice chancellors of at least 71 public universities on Thursday said that unless the government releases funds to the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the centres of learning would be forced to shut down.

The vice chancellors met with Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh at the HEC complex in Islamabad to discuss the matter.

However, at a joint press conference later, Vice Chancellor of Fatima Jinnah University Dr Saeeda said that the finance minister made no commitment to release funds to the HEC.

The HEC executive director also told reporters that more than 270 projects of the commission are in jeopardy due to shortage of funds.

He said that the government has allocated Rs1 billion for the construction of a monument at the site of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, but is not providing funds to universities.

 

[aristocrat]

^^^these all must be gov. univ's right??

 

[TaimiKhan]

the Higher Education has suffered a lot due to the PPP govt run policies.

Musharaf made very hectic efforts and raised the education budget to billions and sent hundreds of students abroad for higher education, whose fruits we would have started to bear by now, as first batch of students having completed their PhDs from abroad have started to come back and have started their teaching and research work at local universities.

In last 2 years, less number of students have went abroad for education, while the already abroad ones have faced lot of problems due to funding prbs and sme even had to return back.

 

[Nothing]

He said that the government has allocated Rs1 billion for the construction of a monument at the site of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, but is not providing funds to universities.

Monument will get more votes from PPP supporters in next election and so called glory to him and his family to rule for next several years. What dozens of PHDs will do ? More research to get more glory to "Country" , new invention to make life of poor people better.. naaahhh not useful to rule country..

 

[Hutchroy]

Universities suspend academics over no funds - GEO.tv

Universities suspend academics over no funds

KARACHI: The academic process is being boycotted in all the universities of the country, as these universities were denied any grants from the federal government, Geo News reported Wednesday.

Students and teachers boycotted the classes at Bahaud Din University Multan.

The boycotted has backing from Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association and the office-bearers of High Court Bar Association.

The teachers of Islamia University of Bahawalpur are observing Black Day with sporting black bands round their arms.

Also, the teachers at Faisalabad’s GC University continued the boycott of the academic process at the university.

The teachers’ strike has been called off till Thursday thanks to the entry tests for the admissions at Agricultural University.

Sindh University Jamshoro and Mehran University are also observing the boycott. The teachers of Khairpur’s Shah Abdul Lateef University have also suspended the academic process.

According to Vice Chancellor of Gomal University Professor Mansoor Kundi, Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan is not conducting any educational activities; however, admissions and examinations are in progress.

Meantime, Muzaffarabad’s Azad Jammu Kashmir University is also witnessing the boycott process for receiving no grant from the federal government.

 

[Areesh]

Democrazy doing everything pathetic for Pakistan. They have money for their luxuries but not for education and that too higher education.

 

[Hutchroy]

VCs threaten to resign, lock universities – The Express Tribune

VCs threaten to resign, lock universities

ISLAMABAD: When vice-chancellors of all public sector universities on Thursday threatened to tender en masse resignations to protest against cuts in HEC funding, Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh remained unfazed. Instead, he advised them to generate funds on their own.

The heads of 72 major educational institutions had gathered in the federal capital to hammer out ways to cope with the squeeze on government funds. The government has, in fact, decided to cut back development funds and block Rs7 billion for paying 50 per cent higher salaries to university staff.

Vice-chancellors were actually told that they could “save” by raising tuition fees, cutting down on scholarships and selling or leasing their properties, signalling that higher education may no longer be within the reach of poorer parents.

In response, HEC Chairman Javed Laghari is said to have told the minister: “The vice-chancellors have unanimously proposed to tender resignations against cutting back of funds, and lock the universities.”

The HEC’s aim, he said, is quality human resource development and faculty training, adding that this aspect will not be compromised. “Staff salaries remain unpaid and teachers’ unions are threatening to go on strike”.

“The money set aside for education is not expenditure but an investment in future. Politicians may think that the money is being wasted. They want this money to translate into votes, which is not possible,” said Laghari.

The government has drastically cut HEC funds in the wake of fiscal constraints. Only this year, the government allocated Rs19 billion less than what the education sector needs.

The budget allocation for the HEC for this year is Rs15.8 billion which, too, is under the threat of being further axed.

An HEC official said that so far the government has released just Rs2.1 billion, adding that the entire amount was going towards human resources and no money was available for scholarships. “The higher education sector is in chaos.”

Dismissing the threat, Hafeez Shaikh is reported to have said: “People who are getting higher education belong to the privileged class. They…do not have more right on public money…Stop teaching politics to government. This is not your business.”

Stressing the need for making tough choices, he said in view of dwindling resources, the nation “must decide whether it wants a single surgeon or 50 skilled welders”.

He proposed to form a committee under the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission to resolve the funding issue.

However, the chairman HEC said that the final decision on the minister’s proposals will be taken by the vice-chancellors.

Denying the existence of free higher education, Hafeez Shaikh said that the concept was no longer valid and the universities should review their fee structures. He said the government has to prioritise between completing incomplete universities and taking care of people displaced by floods.

“The country is passing a difficult phase and the HEC has to share the burden,” Shaikh said.

HEC, he said, is being treated in a fair manner, adding that allocation for current expenditures has been jacked up by eight per cent.

Instead of sending people abroad for higher studies, the HEC should teach them here, he proposed.

Shaikh said that the government was pressing for macroeconomic stability.

Stressing the need for reducing public sector spending “even at the cost of key projects”, he said flood damages may run into tens of billions of dollars.

The minister did not give quantitative commitment, but assured that the higher education sector would not suffer much.

HEC’s executive director Dr Sohail Naqvi said: “Capacity for development is the main hurdle in any country’s development, but the government is not ready to pay for this.”

Criticising the government, he said that it had backtracked on its promise to the World Bank that it would assure three consecutive years financing needs of the HEC.

Vice-chancellor of Peshawar’s IMS Nasir Aslam said that the prime minister had assured a 30 per cent increase in funding for universities, but the finance minister had cut it by 20 per cent. He said all 14 universities in Khyber-Pakthunkhwa will close on September 20 and “I will be the first one to resign”.

Questioning the government’s rationale, he said why should the education sector be made a scapegoat when the government itself has not reduced borrowings from the State Bank. “Has it (the government) stopped parliamentarians from getting fatter? And has it cut subsidies?” He said when he asked for Rs1.8 billion, the government gave him a cheque for just Rs10 million. Imtiaz Gilani, the vice-chancellor of Peshawar-based UET, said: “The government is hell bent on destroying the higher education system.”

“Two vice-chancellors have been kidnapped in Khyber-Pakthunkhwa and the government’s response is ‘go and get a gun and protect yourself, we cannot do anything,’” said HEC Chairman Javed Laghari. “The contractors are after us, the students and the teachers are threatening to go on strike and faculty members are going to courts.”

 

[SandsofTime]

Terrible situation. If new Phds can't be sent atleast the existing ones should be allowed to complete otherwise funding will be utterly wasted when students have to return midway. GOP needs to cut pork projects (as they call it in America), stop feeding money to jiyalas in overstaffed state run companies and divert money from other lower priority projects.

 

[Areesh]

the Higher Education has suffered a lot due to the PPP govt run policies.

Musharaf made very hectic efforts and raised the education budget to billions and sent hundreds of students abroad for higher education, whose fruits we would have started to bear by now, as first batch of students having completed their PhDs from abroad have started to come back and have started their teaching and research work at local universities.

In last 2 years, less number of students have went abroad for education, while the already abroad ones have faced lot of problems due to funding prbs and sme even had to return back.

Not only that we also had projects with china and other countries to start new universities, which I think are also scraped by the present democrazy and with the same reason of lack of funds.

 

[Uchiha Sasuke]

Becoming industrialized is most important for a third world country like pakistan and education is the key to this process. Our leaders and politicans dont know about this simple fact.

 

[Patriot]

HEC has done excellent work under Pervez Musharraf.He increased HEC Budget by 200%.A lot of new private universities also opened up.I don't we can afford to compromise on HEC budget.Universities are very important but i do think we should encourage those studying from Pakistan Government Universities at very low cost to stay in Pakistan and not run abroad as soon as they get their engineering or any other degree.