Financial crisis strikes universities
University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Spokesman Prof Dr Muhammad Jalal Arif said that due to Covid, floods and the ongoing economic crunch in the country, Higher Education Commission financial support is declining for all universities, including UAF. With this in mind, the generation of resources at the local level has become essential.
The university utility bill expenditure, which was standing at Rs156 million a decade ago, has increased to Rs362 million in 2021. However, in the 2021-22 financial year, the utility bill budget jumped by 100 percent and crossed Rs700 million, due to increasing costs at the national level.
Owing to severe financial crisis, the University Syndicate decided on a 25 percent increase in fees in September 2022, due to utility bills and other rising expenditures. Tuition fees were last increased in 2019.
The increase in fees was postponed for a semester due to the floods, only now being implemented to run financial affairs. From this increment, the university will receive an additional Rs190 million, whereas expenditures have gone up manifold.
UAF is providing numerous scholarships to thousands of students from underprivileged background. Between 2021 and 2022, as many as 6,645 students benefitted from scholarships worth Rs450 million, while students unable to pay fees on time are being given the facility to pay in installments.
Dr Arif said that at this critical time of financial crunch, we all have to make sacrifices to face the crisis. He added that there are different stages in the life of nations, so we have to work together as a nation to give opportunities to national institutions for public service.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2023.