On hold: Budget cuts stall construction of KMU building

“Construction will take one more year as the HEC still has to sanction Rs292 million," says a university official.

PESHAWAR:

Cuts in the annual budget of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have delayed the construction of a building of Khyber Medical University (KMU).

Contractors were unable to complete the construction of the building in Hayatabad by September due to limited funds, officials of the university told The Express Tribune.

HEC sanctioned a total of Rs477 million in 2008 for the construction of the building in a bid to consolidate the university’s different branches in one place. However, the administration has only received Rs185 million so far.

“Construction will take one more year as the HEC still has to sanction Rs292 million, which will be released by the beginning of next year. The university will start functioning by September 2013,” said an official of the university requesting anonymity.



“Twenty of our students are enrolled in PhD programmes in various universities: 15 in Glasgow, two in Liverpool, one in Dundee and two in London. But we are facing problems in financing their education as the HEC has slashed the university’s annual budget,” said KMU’s Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Muhammad Hafizullah.

He added they were sharing the existing building with Khyber Girls Medical College and that their own building will consist of three different sections: academic, administration and multipurpose. However, HEC was able to provide only 38% of the total funds this year.

Another official of the university said the administration has taken Rs40 million from the Annual Development Plan (ADP) for the construction of the said building.

HEC Chairman Javed Laghari could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2012.