Balochistan Assembly seeks funds for universities

Members call on provincial government to release Rs500 million in grants immediately to universities.

QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly on Monday unanimously adopted two resolutions demanding a solution to the financial crises confronted by public sector universities of Balochistan, asking the federal government to overcome the shortfalls and release its committed funds to the varsities.

In another resolution, members called upon the provincial government to release Rs500 million in grants immediately to universities so that the problems could be solved for the time being. A lawmaker of PML-Q tabled the adjournment motion in the house which met under the chairmanship of Speaker Aslam Bhootani.

Talking on its admissibility, Jaffar Mandokhel said that five universities of Balochistan are suffering from a shortfall of Rs838 million due to which educational activities had been severely affected.

“The literacy rate in this province is already low at alarming level compared to the other three provinces where higher educational institutions have been established in each district,” he said, adding that the issue must be taken up with both the federal and provincial governments.

Mandokhel  said that it had been decided that two university campuses will be established in Balochistan, but the projects have been shelved in the current fiscal year, adding that the remaining varsities are also at the brink of closure.

“I don’t think that the federal government will give any credence to our demands because there is no representation of Balochistan in key posts or the ministry in Islamabad. However, we will continue to highlight the issues,” he said.

They said that if funds were not released immediately, all universities will be closed after three months.

The house erupted in an uproar as MPAs strongly condemned a suggestion by Tahir Mahmood, the Education Minister belonging to the PPP, that all MPAs should contribute Rs20 million to enhance the educational system in the province.

“Each lawmaker was allocated Rs180 million in provincial PSDP, if we divert at least Rs20 million for educational purposes there will be no need to beg the federal government,” he said. Lawmakers also strongly condemned the target killings of Pashtun and Baloch people in Karachi, and called up the provincial government to take up the issue with the Sindh government.

Minister for Revenue Zamrak Khan Achakzai of ANP claimed that an ethnic party was given a freehand to kill innocent people at will, particularly Pashtun traders hailing from Balochistan, and not even a single arrest had been made.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2010.