Universities in K-P: from crisis to collapse?

A university is not just a group of buildings, nor a payroll centre for employees, nor a factory producing degrees. It is a moral and intellectual institution - a place where societies refine their thinking, test ideas and prepare leadership for the future. When universities weaken, nations do not merely lose graduates; they lose direction.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, higher education appears trapped in a recurring cycle of deficit, agitation, bailout and renewed crisis. The debate is no longer whether universities face financial stress. The real question is whether we still understand what a university is meant to be.

University of Peshawar is a case in point - once the intellectual hub of the province. Today, headlines revolve around deficits, strikes and administrative disputes.

Reported revenue hovers around Rs3 billion while expenditure exceeds Rs7 billion. This is not a temporary shortfall; it is structural imbalance. Expansion of departments without sustainability studies, creation of posts without fiscal planning and rising pension liabilities reflect managerial decisions taken without long-term vision. Still lessons are not learned, Selection Board for around 200 appointment under the pressure of the Association are being held which will add to the financial burden.

Public bailouts have become the standard response. But bailouts without reform create moral hazard. They postpone collapse; they do not prevent it. Financial discipline, medium-term budgeting and independent audits are essential if the bleeding is to stop.

The governance of public universities in the province is regulated under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012. The Act clearly distinguishes between teaching and administrative cadres and mandates regular appointments to key offices.

Yet, reported deviations from statutory provisions have become routine. When rules are bypassed, institutions shift from rule-based governance to personality-driven control. Systems weaken, and when systems weaken, institutions decline - regardless of who sits in office.

Universities, of all institutions, must embody constitutional discipline. If they fail to adhere to law, what moral authority remains to teach rule of law?

A 2019 inspection report revealed staggering figures: expenditure rising by over Rs2 billion in 12 years, massive recruitment without proper need assessment and pension liabilities spiralling beyond sustainability. The institution, which once had budget surplus, gradually slipped into deficit primarily due to unchecked hiring.

Yet the most troubling aspect was not the findings - it was the inaction. Inspection without implementation is ritual without reform. Transparency is not achieved by publishing reports; it is achieved by enforcing accountability.

When inquiries are shelved, deterrence disappears and confidence erodes - internally and publicly.

Financial instability is damaging, but academic deterioration is devastating.

Recent results from competitive examinations paint a grim picture. In judicial service examinations, success ratios have been alarmingly low. In the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination, barely 2.96% of candidates passed the written stage. Such statistics demand introspection.

If graduates repeatedly struggle in competitive arenas, the problem cannot be dismissed as coincidence. It raises uncomfortable questions: Are faculty appointments strictly merit-based? Are syllabi aligned with contemporary knowledge? Is critical thinking encouraged or rote memorisation rewarded? Has research become a numbers game rather than intellectual contribution?

A degree is not a decorative certificate. It is a stamp of competence - or at least it should be.

Globally, universities are engines of discovery. During the Covid-19 pandemic, institutions such as the University of Oxford, University of Pittsburgh, and Baylor College of Medicine were at the forefront of vaccine development. Research translated into global recognition and economic return.

In contrast, Pakistani universities struggle even to maintain basic laboratories and digital infrastructure. New universities are announced for political optics while existing ones grapple with sustainability. Many newly established institutions lack proper accreditation and permanent faculty, placing students' futures at risk.

Universities are repositories of knowledge, but they must also be generators of innovation. Research funding, industry collaboration and interdisciplinary inquiry are not luxuries; they are necessities.

The pandemic exposed technological fragility in K-P's universities. Online learning platforms were improvised rather than prepared. Faculty training in digital pedagogy was minimal.

But beyond technology lies a deeper issue - a moral vacuum. Academic dishonesty, plagiarism and politicised recruitment corrode credibility. When merit is compromised, mediocrity becomes institutionalised.

Reform must therefore go beyond financial adjustment. It must restore academic integrity.

The crisis of higher education in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is systemic. Cosmetic changes will not suffice. Following reforms are indispensable:

1) Financial restructuring: medium-term budgeting, pension reform and transparent audits. 2) Statutory compliance: appointments strictly according to law and insulation of governance bodies from external pressure. 3) Merit-based recruitment: independent, transparent and peer-reviewed selection processes. 4) Research revitalisation: linking academia with industry, funding innovation and incentivising quality over quantity. 5) Further appointments should be stopped. 6) Duplications and triplications of departments having same subjects should be merged.

Decline is not irreversible. Institutions can recover if leadership is guided by vision rather than expediency.

The choice before policymakers is stark. Do we treat universities as employment exchanges and political trophies? Or do we restore them as intellectual citadels shaping the province's future?

The future of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa - and indeed of Pakistan - depends not on the number of universities we open, but on the standards we uphold within them.