Smooth functioning: LCWU to decentralise faculty budgets

VC says move will save time and energy for finalising routine expenditures

LAHORE: The Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) has decided to decentralise its budget for each faculty and has asked all heads of departments to submit their financial requirements on a specific performa for the forthcoming fiscal year.

While addressing deans and department heads on Monday, LCWU Vice-Chancellor Dr Rukhsana Kausar said decentralisation would support the smooth functioning of all academic departments and would save time and energy for finalising routine expenditures and purchase of relevant items.

The VC also instructed departments to establish purchase committees, which would be authorised for procurement after consulting with the central purchase department.

In his presentation, LCWU Budget and Finance Officer Nisar Bazmi briefed the participants on how to prepare departmental budget professionally, including the technicalities and basic principles for budget making.

Dr Rukhsana said that with the support of faculty, she would strive hard to bring the LCWU among top 500 universities of the world, while her emphasis would be on the academic excellence and research advancement. She added she would examine all fiscal demands from the departments and would recommend increase in research grant in the syndicate meeting.

The VC said the faculty should also strive to transcend traditional disciplinary limitations in pursuit of intellectual fusion and develop a supportive culture of academic enterprise and knowledge-entrepreneurship. The university must also be prepared to deliver higher education and promote creative thinking in students, she added.

Dr Rukhsana said the university has well-equipped science laboratories where fundamental and applied research for development and testing for special purposes are carried out.

A fully equipped language laboratory, a well-designed art studio, excellent studios and laboratories of mass communication, computer science and enriched libraries provide excellent environment to carry out innovative academic and research activities. She added the VC said decentralising the budget will bring more efficiency in existing curricular and co-curricular activities to compete for better ranking.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2017.