Szabul approves Rs452.07 million budget for next academic year

The Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University of Law (Szabul) on Wednesday approved Rs452.07 million breakeven budget of the educational year 2019-20 in the 13th meeting of its syndicate.

The outlay will now be presented before the law varsity’s senate for the final nod before the commencement of the next fiscal year. According to the varsity officials, Szabul Vice Chancellor (VC) Justice (retd) Qazi Khalid Ali approved the budget allocation while presiding the meeting, which was attended by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan nominee Bhawani Shankar Chowdhary, Sindh Universities and Boards Department Additional Secretary Asadullah Abro, law department representative Rubina Asif, Szabul Dean Faculty of Law and former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Zia Pervez, Registrar Syed Sharaf Ali Shah and others.

On the occasion, Szabul Director Finance Amir Bashir presented budget details and explained income and expenditures of the varsity. Earlier, Bashir presented the revised 2018-19 budget of Rs355.54 million, which was approved by the syndicate.

The syndicate also approved the appointment of Alia Mushahid as deputy director quality enhancement cell (QEC) and Mir Murtaza Narejo as deputy director office of research, innovation, and commercialisation (ORIC).

The meeting approved the confirmation of the appointments of six faculty members and 21 administrative officers whose confirmation had been due since August 2018. The next agenda item was the qualification approval of a collaboration programme with the University of Northampton (UoN). The VC told the meeting that under the agreement, Szabul would start a four-year LLB programme and a two-year LLM programme, which would include one-year study in the United Kingdom against the payment of 1,300 pounds and 2,000 pounds as the annual fee for LLM and LLB respectively.

He said the task to strike deal with foreign universities was undertaken by him in November 2016. The programme had been approved by different provincial and federal authorities, including the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and the Pakistan Bar Council, and now it awaited final approval by the federal cabinet.

The VC informed the meeting that the Supreme Court had made it mandatory for foreign LLB students to qualify in five subjects based on the Pakistani law and the study of these subjects had been provided for in the collaboration programme. He said the real credit of the collaborative programme went to the Sindh government which always supported the varsity. He thanked Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah for encouraging him at every stage of his efforts.