Islamabad:Academic Staff Association (ASA) of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) has expressed gratitude to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC for approving Rs2 billion bailout package for the university during its recent meeting.
Prof Mazhar Iqbal, President, Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA), who also heads ASA regretted that the recurring grant for universities to meet salary/pension expenses remained stagnant at Rs65 billion since 2018. As the number of universities also grew, the per-institution share decreased, exacerbating financial pressures due to government-mandated salary increases and a rising number of pensioners. He further added that majority of the faculty at QAU are hired on TTS but the situation is reverse for university employees and officers. Older universities, such as QAU, face particularly acute challenges due to their larger retired staff, yet they receive no additional government support to address annual increases in salaries and pensions.
Prof. Iqbal hailed the bailout as a critical first step in prioritising higher education and urged the government to extend similar financial relief to other older universities facing similar challenges.
QAU’s financial deficit reached approximately Rs2 billion. The approved funds are expected to clear long-pending dues, including payments for part-time teaching, extra workload allowances, laboratory chemicals and glassware, vendor payments, medical bills, honoraria for local and foreign examiners, departmental evening programme shares, ORIC loan and repayment of Rs200 million commercial bank loan with interest drawn to pay salaries to staff in the absence of any money in its coffers some months ago.
Considering the bailout package as a short time solution to clear the backlog only, the government needs to increase share of universities in recurring grant by adding the impact of annual salary and pension increases.
ASA raised concerns about ongoing administrative challenges at QAU including not checking students continued illegal activities eroding writ of the university. The ASA emphasised the urgent need for a comprehensive strategy to address financial and administrative challenges to ensure QAU’s sustainable operation. Without such reforms, the university risks returning to a similar financial crisis within months. It thanked the Federal Ministers for Finance and Revenue, for Education and Professional Training and the Prime Minister and the President of Pakistan (QAU’s Chancellor) for approving this emergency bailout. It called for immediate reforms in financial governance and administrative management to safeguard the university’s future.
