ASA seeks Rs5bn bailout for QAU to avoid bankruptcy

Islamabad : Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Pakistan’s top-ranked institution and ranked 354th globally in the QS World University Rankings, is on the brink of financial collapse.

A statement issued by Dr Mazhar Iqbal, President Academic Staff Association (ASA), said that with a deficit exceeding Rs1.5 billion, the university urgently needs government’s intervention to avert bankruptcy.

Since 2023, QAU faced a severe financial crisis, struggling to fund essential activities such as research, external examiner payments, medical expenses, part-time teaching, extra workload, and laboratory chemical supplies.

Earlier this year, the university took Rs200 million loan from a commercial bank to cover salaries which had to be paid in March, a debt still remains unpaid. Currently for the month of July, which is ending, QAU can only disburse partial salaries and the recent government decision announcing pay and pension increases has yet to be implemented.

The ASA stressed that persistent underfunding, rising operational costs and administrative inefficiencies have worsened the crisis.

The misuse of resources compounds the problem as nearly 1,200 unauthorised students continued to occupy boys’ hostels, with 180 illegally installed air conditioners running continuously, inflating

utility and maintenance costs. Monthly, the university was spending Rs40 million on hostels and Rs13 million on subsidized transport.

Despite orders to vacate hostels by July 13 following the summer closure on July 9, some students continue to reside there, and the city administration has not cooperated in enforcing the vacate notice.

The QAU Academic Staff Association urged the Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, the prime minister and President Asif Zardari, who is also QAU's Chancellor, to approve an emergency bailout of

Rs5 billion and to initiate immediate reforms to address governance failures and financial mismanagement.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Niaz has returned from USA and rejoined QAU last Tuesday and convened a meeting of deans, directors and chairpersons Friday in which he endorsed the decisions taken by the faculty in his absence under Acting-VC Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal.

According to the reliable sources, the students who had started vacating hostels last week stopped the process after the return of Dr Niaz.

It is noted that no new eviction notice was issued by him.

The process of removing remaining illegal air-conditioners from boys’ hostels has not been completed yet and same is the case with other encroachments and structures.