Govt urged not to delay autumn semester

LAHORE:Association of Private Sector Universities Association of Pakistan (APSUP) has stressed the federal government to timely commence autumn semester 2021.

According to a press release in a letter addressed to Minister for Federal Education & Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood, APSUP Chairman Prof Dr Ch Abdul Rehman observed that the third wave of Covid-19 has severely affected higher education sector as well and since a prolonged closure of higher education institutes with uncertainty about reopening timeframe, the situation has gotten even more stressful with the govt’s latest decision about delaying the commencement of autumn semester 2021. This decision will cause an irreparable loss to students in terms of disrupting their academic journey and resulting in further stress and unrest among them. He observed that by implementing the decision of delaying the commencement of autumn semester 2021, it would be impossible to meet recurring financial cost i.e. faculty and staff salaries and operational expenses because private higher education institutions (HEIs) depended solely on admissions for their financial sustainability. APSUP Chairman requested that the admission process for the autumn semester 2021 may not be delayed and universities be given permission to open admissions for autumn semester 2021 as per their schedule.