Cuts in budget for public varsities opposed
VCs say if funding cuts are not reversed, some varsities will not survive
PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The vice-chancellors of all public sector universities have opposed the recent cuts imposed by the Finance Ministry on the budget for higher education.
The vice-chancellors (VCs) committee meeting was held online on Tuesday. The meeting passed a resolution which stated that universities in the country were already under enormous financial stress because of the squeezing of their budgets for the past three years.
Currently, the Covid-19 pandemic crisis has further exacerbated the situation, both by increasing costs and by reducing the inflows of tuition fees.
Community school teachers demand regular jobs
They appealed to the Prime Minister Imran Khan, the education minister, and the Special Adviser to PM (SAPM) on finance to immediately reverse the cuts and enhance the higher education budget to the levels needed by universities.
The resolution emphasised that future of the country depends critically on the future of education, especially higher education. If the funding cuts are not reversed, some universities would not be able to survive. It would force some universities to raise tuition fees at a time when students are unable or unwilling to pay regular tuition fees because of the pandemic.
They asked the HEC chairperson to arrange a meeting of a delegation of VCs with the PM Imran Khan so that they could brief him about the difficulties being faced by universities because of the repeated budget cuts over the last three years.
Education emergency: Shoddy training makes for shoddy teachers
The resolution also expressed unequivocal opposition to the actions of some elements to change legal provisions and undermine the autonomy of universities, especially draft changes in the Punjab Universities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Nowhere in the world has the quality of education improved without full autonomy of universities.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2020.
The vice-chancellors of all public sector universities have opposed the recent cuts imposed by the Finance Ministry on the budget for higher education.
The vice-chancellors (VCs) committee meeting was held online on Tuesday. The meeting passed a resolution which stated that universities in the country were already under enormous financial stress because of the squeezing of their budgets for the past three years.
Currently, the Covid-19 pandemic crisis has further exacerbated the situation, both by increasing costs and by reducing the inflows of tuition fees.
Community school teachers demand regular jobs
They appealed to the Prime Minister Imran Khan, the education minister, and the Special Adviser to PM (SAPM) on finance to immediately reverse the cuts and enhance the higher education budget to the levels needed by universities.
The resolution emphasised that future of the country depends critically on the future of education, especially higher education. If the funding cuts are not reversed, some universities would not be able to survive. It would force some universities to raise tuition fees at a time when students are unable or unwilling to pay regular tuition fees because of the pandemic.
They asked the HEC chairperson to arrange a meeting of a delegation of VCs with the PM Imran Khan so that they could brief him about the difficulties being faced by universities because of the repeated budget cuts over the last three years.
Education emergency: Shoddy training makes for shoddy teachers
The resolution also expressed unequivocal opposition to the actions of some elements to change legal provisions and undermine the autonomy of universities, especially draft changes in the Punjab Universities (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Nowhere in the world has the quality of education improved without full autonomy of universities.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2020.