PM's help sought over budget cut

This is only about 13 per cent of the total education budget, whereas international norm is above 25 percent so the result is that too little is being spent on higher education as a percentage of the total education budget”, he said. He also asked the Vice Chancellors to urge their faculty members to win international funding. “International funding is available for those who know how to tap it”, he said.

Earlier, during a presentation on the current status of higher education system, Prof. Dr. Sohail Naqvi, Executive Director, HEC said that universities have shown uninterrupted growth during the last six years. He said that the key challenges facing the higher education include access, quality and relevance.

“However, during the last few months, financing has also entered the list of key challenges for HEC and the universities”, he added. The VCs regretted that the percentage of education in the national budget has always been very low. “Most of the Government funding is used for pays and allowances of the university employees. On the other hand, the student enrolment is growing enormously as opposed to the grants in the public universities. The issue needs urgent attention and we have been constantly conveying this concern to the higher authorities”, he said.

While elaborating the HRD programme, he said that almost 55 percent budget has been allocated for scholarships. He said that 2,200 scholars are currently abroad in world renowned universities and 400 more will leave this year. “From last year, these scholars have started coming back and the real change will be visible once majority of them are back to serve in universities and R&D organizations”, he said.