Zero. That is the grand total of the development funds the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has received for the third quarter of the current fiscal year.
The government had pledged Rs15.8 billion to the HEC in the 2012-13 budget for development grants, which are used to provide for scholarships, infrastructure development and other development projects at public sector universities as well as the salaries of project staff.
So far, Rs7.9 billion has been provided, with the last payment — Rs4.73 billion — made in December 2012.
Since then, the HEC is looking toward the Finance Division for the release of around Rs3 billion for the third quarter, HEC Chairperson Javaid Laghari told The Express Tribune on Saturday.
The Finance Ministry had assured the HEC and varsity vice chancellors at a February 21 meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Education and Trainings that the development funds will be released by March 1.
The date has come and passed. But the development funds, which help finance the studies of around 8,000 scholars in Pakistan and abroad, have not arrived.
The problem does not end here.
The HEC is also awaiting recurring funds to the tune of another Rs3 billion for the third quarter, Leghari said.
The recurring funds cover the salaries of universities’ staff and research grants. The HEC is supposed to receive Rs32.7 billion altogether under the recurring subhead by June. But Laghari said the HEC has not received the recurring funds for February.
This has affected the provision of salaries to the 20,000-strong teaching faculty of public universities around the country.
Nasir Jamal Khattak, vice chancellor of Kohat University, said if the recurring funds are not released for another two months, Kohat University will face the same fate as Karachi University — which does not have the money to pay its staff.
Balochistan University is also in dire straits.
“We have been managing staff salaries on internal borrowing for the past two to three months, but this month we don’t have any money to pay teachers,” the university’s vice chancellor Rasul Baksh Raisani said.
He said the university used to receive the annual allocation in quarterly installments of 20 to 30 per cent, but since January, the HEC has changed the payment procedure to a monthly allocation of 10 per cent due to paucity of funds.
The monthly Rs40 million Balochistan University received in February for its January expenses is only half of the amount required to pay its staff, Raisani said.
He said the university, which has 6,000 on-campus students, has 790 teaching positions, but more than 200 of the positions are currently vacant. Raisani said he was afraid he would have to lay off some teachers, or worse, close the university if the funds do not arrive soon.
“If the government does not want the universities to shut down, it should release the funds,” Khattak said. “If there is a way to improve our country’s condition, it is through education. Without education, we are going to get worse and worse.”
HEC spokesperson Murtaza Noor said the commission has been regularly forwarding requests and complaints received from universities to the finance ministry so that the ministry takes note of the problems universities are facing.
HEC officials are expected to meet with the Finance Division this week to find a way to resolve the funding issues.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2013.
COMMENTS (8)
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@Ahmad Farooq Sultan: We are already paying taxes from which the Chairman of HEC is diverting funds to acquire private membership of the Islamabad Club. Think again.
While appreciating the excellent work done by HEC & continued efforts of Mr. Javed Laghari, Chairman, Dr. Ata-Ur-Rahman the founder and ex-chairman and all concerned who are fighting on all fronts; to protect the autonomy and to ensure the continued growth of HEC; I am of the opinion that all of us as a Nation should rise to the occasion and start contributing; whatever we can individually and collectively to fund up the requirements of HEC. Chairman to formulate the modalities and inform the name of the Bank & account number and appeal to citizens including overseas Pakistanis to come forward and start contributing. Based on the excellent track record of HEC and importance of education I am hopeful and confident of a positive outcome.
This is indeed ZERO Dark 13. HEC is penniless --whenever one reads about HEC it is either screaming--whining or moaning. The fact is the HEC is feeding 72 public sector and 71 private sector universities -- ~ 150 HEU/DAI. This is too much --the joke is tiresome. Either the HEC should function the way it is mandated to or it should be wound up post haste. For the last 2+ years the financial constraints - devolution-- infighting-- implosion are the buzz words for the HEC. High caliber academicians are perpetually put on the lurch--sometimes the salary is paid sometimes it is deferred. The HEC is being willfully stigmatized and as a result so are the academicians. The latest squeeze is because of the Parliamentarians' Degree Verification fiasco. Something cogent and assertive has to be affected lest HEC is lost for ever. A requiem is performed every three months which does not behove the highest seat of learning. While 100 billion PKR are mis-spent on a metro Bus in Lahore --the educational sector is being systematically ridiculed, humiliated and gradually demolished. Perhaps that is what we deserve!!
Amazing how our people view the role of higher education. Just so you can't see anything tangible doesn't mean this money is wasted. It's probably people like you who go hoarse over praising the Metro bus scheme in Lahore just because you can see the red shiny buses but not the impact higher education has had in our society.
HEC was impressively well managed during most of its time, given that the entire budget it had for ALL the 100+ universities in Pakistan is less than ONE decent university in the US/UK. And I don't mean Ivy League.
Because of the HEC you finally have PhDs teaching at most levels in universities. I doubt you would have read any academic journals, but please feel to comment on the quality of our researchers.
I personally know many academics from across the globe who are impressed with what HEC has managed to do in such a short time, that too with a limited budget. I look forward to how many Pakistanis will funded themselves for an international PhD after HEC. Practically ALL the PhDs in this country are because of either the HEC or Fulbright/Commonwealth.
But who cares, lets have more overpriced imported shiny buses.
HEC has money to pay 10 lakh for the private membership of its chairman for IBD club.
Every time I read about HEC, it is either begging, crying, or complaining.
Simple math is needed to figure out why there are no funds. After devolution of power to the provinces, provinces are richer than the central government. Yet some forced the lawmakers to keep this white elephant at the center. Well good luck now. Add the numbers to find out if billions could still be doled out to finance "water kits".
HEC has become a white elephant itself. teachers have been paid heavy salaries in last years but what is the output? can someone tell me what research work has been done in last 5 years but thos PHD's where our billion of tax money has been spent?
just investing money on education is not enough unless we know what we are getting in return? let's list down some researches done by Pakistani Phd's in last 5 years. Someone?