Varsity employees demand budget hike

The Federation of All Pakistan Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) has demanded and increase in the budgetary allocations for the varsities in Punjab and criticized the federal government's decision to revoke a 25 per cent tax rebate for researchers and teachers.

Addressing a press conference at Punjab University, leaders of FAPUASA and the PU Academic Staff Association leaders expressed concern over meagre funding for the universities and the revocation of the tax relief.

Former FAPUASA president Dr Amjad Abbas Magsi said that despite being the largest province with the highest number of universities, Punjab government has allocated only Rs18 billion as recurring grant for its 51 universities, while 32 institutions in Sindh have been allocated Rs42 billion.

The leaders demanded increase in the allocation of grants for the public sector universities in Punjab.

They said 75 per cent income tax rebate introduced in 2006 was aimed at promoting research and academic retention. It was reduced to 40% in 2013 and now the government was abolishing it.

They said the rebate was a lifeline for university faculty and researchers who routinely pay out of their pockets for journal publication fees, fieldwork and academic travel. Its abolition will demoralise scholars, reduce research productivity and accelerate the brain drain.

The university employees' leaders said that despite the federal budget growing from Rs5.9 trillion in 2018 to Rs17.5 trillion this year, the grant for higher education has remained frozen at Rs65 billion.