In the aftermath: Experts believe university fees likely to increase

Government ignored universities in budget, this would impact students

PESHAWAR: Education experts in the province have said the provincial government has ignored universities in the budget of 2016-17. They believe this will impact students as university administrations would fill the gaps by increasing the fees.

“Nothing has been kept for universities in the budget,” President Jamil Chitrali told The Express Tribune. “This will directly impact students as universities would be compelled to increase the fees to generate money.”

He said the increased fee structure would deprive students from low-income backgrounds from getting an education.

According to Chitrali, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has thrown its weight behind an education emergency in the province. However, it appears to have shut the door to higher education for students.

“As it is, universities in the province are facing a crisis,” he said. “Now the government is adding to the problem by allocating nothing in the budget towards their improvement.”

Focus demanded

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University (SBBWU) Peshawar Vice Chancellor Razia Sultan said an amount has been allocated for new universities while the old ones have been ignored in the budget.



“Universities are the backbone of higher education,” he said. “Therefore, the government should focus on them.”

She added various universities that have recently been established needed more attention of the government to obtain basic facilities.

However, Adviser to Chief Minister on Higher Education Mushtaq Ghani said they have increase budgets in all the fields, despite obtaining a smaller share from the federal government.

He added the government was trying its best to provide higher education to people from low income backgrounds in their respective districts. Moreover, he added the government established Abbottabad University of Science and technology in 2015.

Allocations

In the budget 2016-17, Rs9.4 billion have been allocated for higher education.

The white paper shows out of the amount Rs220.5 million have been set aside for higher education, Rs8,417 million for general colleges, Rs761 million for technical universities and colleges and Rs97 million for Archives and Libraries.

Although some allocations have been made for universities, they are mostly for development work in and of blocks of few universities. Moreover, he added two new campuses would be set up in Buner and Chitral this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2016.