UVAS syndicate approves Rs3 billion annual budget

LAHORE

The Syndicate of University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore on Wednesday approved Rs3.02 billion budget for the financial year 2016-17. 

According to a press release issued here on Wednesday, Vice-Chancellor Meritorious Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha, while chairing the 44th syndicate meeting, said that focus would be on applied research and development projects for further improving the quality of education and services at the university. 

He told the meeting that Rs1.624 billion had been allocated for development projects.

Of the total development allocation, Rs400 million will be spent on ongoing project of “Enhancement of research facilities at Ravi Campus, Pattoki”, Rs88.650 million on the ongoing development project of new para-veterinary school at Narowal and Rs847.7 million on University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Bahawalpur.

He said that Rs377 million would be spent on two new development projects. Of the two new projects, Rs200 million have been allocated for “new academic block, students hostels and apartments for faculty” at City Campus while Rs177 million for “Establishment of training centre for Biologics at Ravi Campus, Pattoki.” 

The vice-chancellor said that the students’ scholarship amount had also been increased to Rs37.96 million for the 2016-17 from Rs32.47 million provided in 2015-16. He said that the faculty members were contributing a hefty amount to the university income through their competitive research grants. He said that currently 81 research projects of Rs879.23 million were being executed by the faculty members they had won from national and international funding agencies. 

The syndicate also approved some new undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes. Approval of house requisition facility for employees of grade 1 to 4 and improving medical facilities for all the lower grade employees was also granted in the meeting. 

Earlier, presenting the budget before the syndicate, treasurer Muhammad Aslam Pervaiz said that the university expected a non-development income of Rs1.338 billion from different sources, including 48% (Rs639.511 million) from its own resources, 46% (Rs617.915 million) from the Higher Education Commission while 6 percent (Rs79.914 million) from the Punjab government).

He said that the non-development expenditures were estimated to be Rs1.377 billion during the financial year 2016-17, so there is a deficit of Rs38.746 million. 

The VC said that the university would try to meet the budget deficit by generating more income from its own resources. He said that the university had planned to increase its research-based products, diagnostic and clinical services to stakeholders. Special austerity measures will also be adopted to limit the recurring expenditure within available funds, he added.

PEF: The Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) has laid the foundation of an educated Pakistan by ensuring equitable opportunities of education for all the children in the province. The presence of more than two million needy students in private schools associated with the foundation is a clear manifestation of their love for knowledge and learning.

PEF MD Tariq Mahmood said this while presiding over a weekly coordination meeting of programme directors at his office, according to a handout issued here on Wednesday.

Tariq Mahmood observed that we are living in an era of knowledge-based economy in which education is the true agent of change. It is therefore all the more important that every child should be in school as ignorance is root cause of all types of poverty. He said that PEF was also striving to promote girls education, especially in remote and less-developed areas to help them to excel through quality learning. The PEF sponsored educational models have been very successful in illuminating the light of knowledge in low income families, he added.

The meeting was told that result of 16 regular quality assurance test of foundation assisted school programme had been announced and uploaded at PEF official website. A total of 2,324 FAS school partners took part in the examination. The meeting was further told that school partners were directed to follow the directions of the Punjab government with regard to eradication of dengue.

The meeting also reviewed programmes performance and pace of expansion of different free education programmes.

The meeting noted that promotion of education was directly correlated with poverty alleviation and elimination of child labour.