KP govt gives Rs1.985b bailout package to public sector varsities

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to give a bailout package of Rs1.985 billion to the public sector universities in view of the serious financial crunch these seats of learning are faced with.

The universities had demanded the provincial government to issue them Rs5.259 billion to meet financial needs.

According to Finance Minister Taimur Salim Jhagra, the provincial government made a detailed review of the respective demands put forth by each university and proposed a bailout package amounting to almost Rs2 billion against an aggregate demand of Rs5.3 billion.

He lauded the performance initiatives of the University of Peshawar and Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan for which the two universities have been given an additional Rs50 million each as performance incentives.

As per details shared by the provincial minister on his Twitter account, the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar had demanded Rs1000 million against which the university would get Rs373 million.

Islamia College University sought Rs537 million and Rs200 million have been proposed to be given to the university.

Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan had wanted a bailout package worth Rs510 million against which the university will be given Rs290 million.

This university would also receive Rs50 million as an additional amount for its performance.

Agriculture University Peshawar was in need of Rs822 million and the provincial government has agreed to pay it Rs422 million.

Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan would get Rs200 million against its demand of Rs266 million.

The University of Peshawar had furnished a demand for Rs2124 million against which the government would issue it Rs400 million in addition to the Rs50 million performance allowance.

The universities have been confronting financial crises for the last several years.

Sometimes the universities remain unable to pay even salaries and pensions to the employees.

These institutions have also been unable to give an increase in salaries to the employees in line with the announcements made by the federal and provincial governments from time to time.

The employees of the historic Islamia College University recently boycotted duties to force the management to raise their salaries besides accepting their other demands.

The employees of the University of Peshawar are facing serious problems and their protest in favour of their demands is going on.

The Agriculture University has recently made its budget surplus.

The Gomal University has been facing the perpetual problem of a dearth of finances.

The UET, Peshawar has also been suffering serious financial issues though it has been able to pay salaries and pensions well on time so far.

Abdul Wali Khan University is the lone among the six universities which has enough finances to cater to its needs.

Its budget is surplus, though its fees are lesser than all the public sector universities in the province.

The university also offers free education facilities to minority members, orphan students and persons with disabilities.

The University of Peshawar, which got the performance incentive of Rs50 million and won appreciation from the provincial government, has improved its earnings by increasing the fees manifold and reduced the incentives and allowances of the university employees.

The university has shifted the burden to students and employees for which the university administration is facing criticism from the real stakeholders of the university.