Higher education: Rs762.34 m budget proposed for UAF

Finance and Planning Committee decides to set up a Rs5m pension fund.

FAISALABAD:

The University of Agriculture, Faisalabad’s Finance and Planning Committee on Tuesday proposed a deficit budget of Rs762.34 million for the fiscal year 2012-13.

The proposal was sent to the syndicate for their approval.

The committee decided that a cattle market be set up on Narwala Road Bypass in the year where farmers from nearby villages could trade cattle without having to rely on middlemen.

The committee approved creation of a pension fund with an initial deposit of Rs5 million.

It decided to make on-campus paid jobs compulsory for students. The ratio of the university and students’ contribution towards the cost of their field research was set at 60:40.

Addressing the committee, UAF Vice Chancellor Prof Iqrar Ahmad Khan said work on upgrade of a UAF sub campus in Toba Tek Singh would soon begin. He said the Planning Commission of Pakistan had approved the project and allocated Rs502 million for it.

He told the committee members that a proposal to set up a microbiology laboratory was in the pipeline and discussions were underway with some foreign donors in that regard.

He said the university had sent at least 200 staff members for training to foreign countries in the outgoing year, in comparison, he said, the Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB) had sent 100 people for foreign training in five years.

Earlier, the Finance and Planning Committee expressed concern over, what it termed was, a sharp rise in the utility bills of the on campus residence facilities for student and faculty.

It said the raise in utility charges was making it difficult to manage the teaching and research expenses of the university. The committee urged the management to take notice of the situation and introduce some measures to cut down its expenses.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2012.