ISLAMABAD - The Vice Chancellors of the public sector universities have urged the Government to restore universities budget to its original level - Rs 28 billion recurring budget and Rs 30 billion development budget - as was agreed by the Government for the fiscal year 2010-11. The Vice Chancellors of all public sector universities met on Wednesday to discuss the issue of financial constraints for the universities. The universities have been facing financial problems and it is feared that, soon, they wont be able to pay the salaries to their staff. The VCs said that under the current economic circumstances, it will not be possible for the universities to provide the 50 per cent increase in salaries, the 15 per cent increase in the medical allowance and the 15-20 per cent increase in the pension to its employees. They called on the Government to provide a supplementary recurring grant of Rs. 7 billion to provide for the increase in salaries. The VC of University of Balochistan, Dr Abdul Nabi said that the university generates 10 per cent of its funds from its own resources while for the remaining 90 per cent it relies on the HEC. He further added that given the current economic situation, it would not be possible for the university to pay the salaries to its employees. They also agreed on taking steps to enhance the income of the university by increasing the fee and other charges. It was also agreed that the needy students would be provided relief and aid through the student loans. They demanded the govt to not initiate any new development projects for universities, until the funds to the existing universities are restored to the original levels. The VC attending the meeting unanimously agreed their support for the Higher Education Commission as an autonomous body, under the Controlling Authority of the Prime Minister, which is the sole authority to recognise the degrees verified by the universities. Vice Chancellor of Punjab University Mujahid Kamran said that the issue has been unnecessarily politicised, as the verification of the degrees is a usual process for them. They said that the whole academic community is affected by the issue of the fake degrees and that this is likely to affect the values and the credibility of the degrees of the institutions in Pakistan.