Fuuast’s financial crisis getting out of control

The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (Fuuast) faces an increasingly dire financial crisis, with no positive progress emerging from recent meetings of the Standing Committee on Education.

This lack of action puts the future of hundreds of faculty and staff, and thousands of students, at serious risk.

The federal government's apparent disinterest in resolving Fuuast's mounting problems has drawn sharp criticism. The university is currently grappling with a severe financial shortfall, resulting in no payment of salaries for the past three months and house rent allowances for eight months.

The situation has forced faculty members to seek employment elsewhere, with some leaving the country or joining other institutions. The uncertainty caused by the financial instability is significantly impacting the education of thousands of students at the varsity.

Despite repeated appeals from the university administration, neither the federal government nor the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has taken adequate notice of the crisis or increased grant allocations.

The university administration has repeatedly informed the Federal Ministry of Education, HEC and Sindh Higher Education Commission about the deteriorating situation.

In a particularly concerning development, the education ministry recently intervened to prevent the university from holding its convocation ceremony planned after a 13-year hiatus. This decision was made despite the event placing no additional financial burden on the university, with the ministry citing financial constraints as the reason.

Fuuast, which is the second-largest public university in Karachi, serves a significant student population, with approximately 80 per cent of its students coming from Sindh. While the Sindh government provides no grants, the HEC has not increased its funding, and the federal government remains unresponsive.

The university's financial records paint a stark picture. The financial year 2023-2024 shows a deficit of Rs934.832 million, which severely hampered the university's ability to meet its financial obligations, including paying faculty and staff salaries. Projections for the financial year 2024-2025 indicate the requirement of a grant of Rs1,475.168 million just to achieve break-even. If the deficit of Rs934.832 million is not addressed, the projected deficit for 2024-2025 could balloon to Rs1,513.982 million.

Without immediate financial intervention from the federal government, Fuuast faces the very real prospect of being unable to provide essential services and fulfil its educational mandate.

The biggest victims of the financial crisis are the non-teaching contractual staff. More than 60 non-teaching employees were dismissed during the last 10 months or their contracts were not renewed. Recently a public relations officer and photorgrapher employed by the varsity were also removed.