University budget: MUET short on Rs400m

The university expects Rs412 million from the federal government and Rs504 million from the HEC.

HYDERABAD:

Mehran University, one of the few ISO-certified institutions of higher education, approved a budget with a ‘gap’ of over 397 million rupees.

“We have omitted the word ‘deficit’ and used ‘gap instead, because we want to avoid financing the shortage through bank loans,” said Munir Ahmed Shaikh, the director of finance.

The total budget comes to Rs1.56 billion with a grant of Rs643 million from the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The federal government will give Rs412 million, while the university will generate Rs504 million on its own.

They may have to opt for an overdraft facility, which they managed to avoid during the last two years, as a last resort, Shaikh added.

The Mehran University of Engineering and Technology offers degrees in 17 undergraduate, and 15 postgraduate engineering programme. This year it will be spending an estimated Rs414 million on salary increments, inflation, utility bills and fuel.

Shaikh was worried that if the HEC did not pay them they would also have to face student protests. “Students belonging to nationalist political parties will make a fuss as they did two years ago when the university had announced a deficit budget,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^st, 2011.