Sindh finance dept releases Rs4.39bn for public universities

The Sindh government’s finance department has released a total sum of Rs4.3995 billion as the second quarter of the annual grant-in-aid in the current financial year 2023-24 to the public sector universities and higher education institutions in the province.

According to the circular sent by the finance department to the secretary of the Sindh Higher Education Commission, a total of 20 public sector universities and higher education institutions will become recipients of this grant. Each of the recipient universities will receive 25 per cent of its annual grant.

The University of Karachi will get a sum of Rs511.5 million in this quarter, the NED University of Engineering & Technology will get Rs28.65 million, the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, will receive a sum of Rs484 million, the Institute of Business Administration Karachi will get Rs92 million, Dow University of Health Sciences will receive Rs223.25 million, the Dawood University of Engineering and Technology will get Rs279.75 million, while the Sindh Madressatul Islam University, Karachi, will get Rs90.25 million.

The funds have been placed by the finance department at the disposal of the secretary of the provincial HEC for further disbursement of the same to the universities concerned after the fulfilment of all the lawful formalities.

The finance department has also asked the HEC to provide utilisation reports of last year’s released funds, audit reports of the preceding years and copies of the budgets of the recipient universities duly passed by their syndicates.

These documents have to be provided to the finance department before the 3rd quarter of the annual grant of the provincial government in the current financial year.

The latest instalment of the grant to the universities has been released a day after Interim Chief Minister Justice (retired) Maqbool Baqar persuaded the faculty-members of the University of Karachi to end the strike they had been observing for days to protest against their persisting financial woes in the teaching service.