PESHAWAR – An emergency meeting of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa universities vice chancellors was held on Saturday to discuss the two-point agenda of inadequate funding on recurring and developmental sides to varsities and anomalies in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act 2012.
The vice chancellors thoroughly discussed the issues on agenda and unanimously resolved that due to the annual increase in salaries and pensions every year by the government, funds for which have not been released, the universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will not be able to pay the 20 per cent increased salary and pension announced in the fiscal budget 2012-13, until receipt of budget for the same from the Higher Education Commission.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Vice Chancellors Committee fails to understand the wisdom of not getting full recurring grants, which are meticulously calculated, they added. This has made survival extremely difficult for Universities, especially the new Universities, they maintained.
Chaired by Vice Chancellor University of Engineering and Technology Engineer Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani the meeting was attended by Vice Chancellor University of Peshawar Prof Dr Qibla Ayaz, VC Kohat University Dr Nasir Jamal Khattak, Dr Asmataullah Khan VC University of Science and Technology Bannu, Vice Chancellor Malakand University Dr Muhammad Rasul Jan, Dr Farhana Jehangir VC Shaheed Benazir Women University Peshawar, Dr Mohsin Director Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar, VC Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan Dr Ihsan Ali, Vice Chancellor Khyber Medical University Peshawar Dr Hafizullah and Dr Muhammad Jehanzeb Vice Chancellor Malakand University.
The Vice Chancellors were of the opinion that developmental funds are meant for infrastructure, laboratories and the Human Resource Development. Withholding of funds for the ongoing projects in rife with disastrous consequences that not alone will get them into litigation with contractors, but also embarrass Pakistan when a “sovereign” guarantee of payment to scholars studying abroad is not honoured, they said.
The committee resolved that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act 2012 be revisited to address the anomalies in it and bring it in conformity with the University of Peshawar Act-2011 as was previously agreed upon by all the stakeholders. The Vice Chancellors also decided to seek an audience with the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for this purpose.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Vice Chancellors hoped that the recurring and developmental funds should be released immediately by the concerned quarters and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act 2012 be revisited by the provincial government to avoid the collapse of universities in the province