Islamabad:Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), one of Pakistan’s premier institutions of higher learning, is currently facing an acute financial crisis that has severely impacted its operations.
This month, in a deeply concerning development, the university was only able to disburse partial salaries to its employees ahead of Eidul Azha, while pensions for retired faculty and staff remain unpaid.
According to a statement issued by Academic Staff Association, QAU, this marks the second such incident in the current fiscal year. Earlier in January, salary disbursement was also delayed, compelling the university to secure a loan of Rs270 million from a private bank, out of which Rs270m still remains unsettled.
The financial strain further crippled the university’s ability to meet essential obligations. Since Fall Semester 2023, QAU was unable to pay medical reimbursements, compensation for extra courses, internal and external reviewers/examiners bills, visiting faculty payment and research grants. The institution is currently operating under a budget deficit exceeding Rs1 billion.
Despite repeated appeals and formal communications to the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, Ministry of Finance, the Prime Minister, and the President of Pakistan throughout the past year by ASA, no substantial action was taken to address the financial crisis.
The teachers elected body fears that if immediate and comprehensive financial support/bailout package is not extended, the university “risks defaulting entirely threatening its academic programmes, research initiatives and international standing.”
The QAU ASA made an urgent appeal to the President of Pakistan, who is the Chancellor of QAU, to take swift and decisive action. The integrity, reputation and future of this prestigious institution depend on timely intervention and sustained financial support, it concluded.