‘Budget for varsities best in current situation’

Education minister hints at reopening technical training institutes shortly

ISLAMABAD: A budget of Rs65 billion for higher educational institutes in the country will be ‘sufficient’ given that the government has decided to freeze salaries for the upcoming fiscal year 2020-21.

This was stated by the Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood on Wednesday during a meeting with a delegation of Islami Jamiat Taliba (IJT).

Mehmood said that public sector universities in the country had spent a cumulative of Rs64 billion in the outgoing fiscal year 2019-20, including development and non-development expenditure.

With salaries frozen, due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, a budget of Rs65 billion was very reasonable, he argued.

The delegation demanded the federal minister formulate guidelines for universities in the same way the government had devised one for students of matriculation and intermediate.

Mahmood, however, clarified that universities are independent institutions and that he did not want to micro-manage them.

The minister said he has directed the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri sit with the vice-chancellors of all state-run universities and work out a plan for the situation arising out of the lockdown.

The meeting also discussed the issue of students appearing in exams as private candidates and their promotion to next grade as per the government policy.

Separately, while presiding over a meeting of provincial education ministers, TVET chairman, and senior officials from the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), the minister said that a uniform policy will be formulated for reopening technical and professional training institutes.

The meeting reviewed a strategy to reopen technical and vocational training institutes across the country in phases, a statement said.

Mehmood said there are two types of technical training institutes, those which provide training in factories and those who teach in classrooms.

In the first phase, institutes which teach students in factories will be opened followed by those teaching in classrooms.

The minister directed all provinces and concerned departments to present their suggestions in that regard to the Federal Education Ministry within three days.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2020.