Varsities staff asks KP govt to increase budget for higher education

PESHAWAR: The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter on Sunday asked the government to increase the budget for higher education to at least Rs 150 billion to ensure smooth functioning of the universities.

The demand was made in an emergency meeting of the association held at the University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar with its provincial president Prof Dr Shah Alam Khan in the chair. The meeting was attended by representatives of the faculty organizations of all the universities of the province.

The participants of the meeting called on the KP government and the chancellor of public sector universities to immediately withdraw the letter received by the universities from the Higher Education Department, asking the universities to cut the employees salaries.

The meeting urged the KP government to fulfill its constitutional responsibility and take steps to set up Higher Education Commission at the provincial level like Punjab and Sindh.

The participants of the meeting decided that if the government did not meet the demands, employees of all KP universities would gather on Thursday, May 27, at the University of Peshawar campus and stage a protest demonstration. Teachers ‘unions and non-academic employees’ unions would join the protest.

The meeting also decided to challenge the letter from the Higher Education Department in the court, saying it was illegal.