UOP urges K-P to provide Rs200m bailout
Vice chancellor says they have insufficient funds to pay salaries, pensions and other dues to employees
University of Peshawar. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR:
Mired in a financial crisis that threatens to cripple its operations, the University of Peshawar has written to the provincial government, urging him to urgently approve a bailout package so that the cash-strapped varsity can pay salaries and pensions to its employees for January.
A letter from the office of the University of Peshawar (UoP) Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Asif Khan has been dispatched to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister about its dire financial status.
A copy of the letter, available with the Express Tribune, shows that UoP has asked the provincial government to provide around Rs200 million. Despite repeated requests, the money was not released and now, it has no funds to pay the salaries of around 2,800 employees and pensions to another 1,540 retired staff.
The letter added that the has dues of Rs160 million, pension payments worth Rs70 million, commutation along with arrears of Rs133.4 million, utility payments worth Rs20 million to make a total of Rs403.4 million.
At the moment, he said that the varsity just has Rs69.61 million in its accounts while the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will provide a grant of just Rs130.92 million. Despite this, the shortfall will be Rs203.597 million.
The added that from salaries of staff have increased by 270% over the past 15 years, jumping from Rs470 million in the fiscal year 2006-7 to Rs1.737 billion in the fiscal year 2018-19. Similarly, pensions have increased from Rs84 million in FY 2006-7 to Rs906 million in the fiscal year 2018-19, an increase of 979%.
Dr Asif said that the federal government provided Rs59 billion to the HEC, which in turn gave the varsity an annual grant of just Rs1.25 billion, a cut of around Rs365 million.
“How we will carry on the affairs of the oldest university of the country if it was facing an Rs350 million shortfall in the budget as we are unable to provide pensions and salaries to our staff,” the VC added in the letter.
He said that the varsity has generated around Rs70 million from its sources, but that amount is not enough to cover the shortfall. Talking about challenges, he said that the number of universities in the province has risen to 30, which means fewer students are coming to the UoP, and hence, they are unable to generate higher revenue in terms of tuition fees and other charges.
In the past, he said that around 100,000 private students obtained degrees from the UoP every year which contributed around Rs400 million in revenue to the varsity. This figure, he said, had fallen to just 17,000 students as students are also obtaining degrees from the Islamia College University and the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University as well.
Dr Asif lamented that despite having requested the prime minister, the K-P governor as well as the chief minister, no action has been taken and the university is facing a difficult financial situation.
Separately, the Peshawar University Teachers Association (PUTA) President Dr Fazal Nasir has called an emergency meeting of teachers to demand that the provincial and federal governments announce bailout packages for the varsity.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Nasir said that since this was a peak time for students, they will not stage any strikes, but if the government did not announce a bailout package, then could reconsider this decision.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2020.
Mired in a financial crisis that threatens to cripple its operations, the University of Peshawar has written to the provincial government, urging him to urgently approve a bailout package so that the cash-strapped varsity can pay salaries and pensions to its employees for January.
A letter from the office of the University of Peshawar (UoP) Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Asif Khan has been dispatched to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) chief minister about its dire financial status.
A copy of the letter, available with the Express Tribune, shows that UoP has asked the provincial government to provide around Rs200 million. Despite repeated requests, the money was not released and now, it has no funds to pay the salaries of around 2,800 employees and pensions to another 1,540 retired staff.
The letter added that the has dues of Rs160 million, pension payments worth Rs70 million, commutation along with arrears of Rs133.4 million, utility payments worth Rs20 million to make a total of Rs403.4 million.
At the moment, he said that the varsity just has Rs69.61 million in its accounts while the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will provide a grant of just Rs130.92 million. Despite this, the shortfall will be Rs203.597 million.
The added that from salaries of staff have increased by 270% over the past 15 years, jumping from Rs470 million in the fiscal year 2006-7 to Rs1.737 billion in the fiscal year 2018-19. Similarly, pensions have increased from Rs84 million in FY 2006-7 to Rs906 million in the fiscal year 2018-19, an increase of 979%.
Dr Asif said that the federal government provided Rs59 billion to the HEC, which in turn gave the varsity an annual grant of just Rs1.25 billion, a cut of around Rs365 million.
“How we will carry on the affairs of the oldest university of the country if it was facing an Rs350 million shortfall in the budget as we are unable to provide pensions and salaries to our staff,” the VC added in the letter.
He said that the varsity has generated around Rs70 million from its sources, but that amount is not enough to cover the shortfall. Talking about challenges, he said that the number of universities in the province has risen to 30, which means fewer students are coming to the UoP, and hence, they are unable to generate higher revenue in terms of tuition fees and other charges.
In the past, he said that around 100,000 private students obtained degrees from the UoP every year which contributed around Rs400 million in revenue to the varsity. This figure, he said, had fallen to just 17,000 students as students are also obtaining degrees from the Islamia College University and the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University as well.
Dr Asif lamented that despite having requested the prime minister, the K-P governor as well as the chief minister, no action has been taken and the university is facing a difficult financial situation.
Separately, the Peshawar University Teachers Association (PUTA) President Dr Fazal Nasir has called an emergency meeting of teachers to demand that the provincial and federal governments announce bailout packages for the varsity.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Nasir said that since this was a peak time for students, they will not stage any strikes, but if the government did not announce a bailout package, then could reconsider this decision.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2020.